[     The 

IkST  CHURCH 
IN  PLYMOUTH 


J.-Si;j;^SSSvvS^';^5SN 


1606 1  901 


JOHN   CUCKSON 


it.:^i^B^ 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^f^ 


Purchased   by  the 
Mrs.   Robert   Lenox    Kennedy  Church   History   Fund. 


ivisum  2. A... J.,Q.^       I 


Di 

Section 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  of  t/ie  FIRST 
CHURCH  IN  FLYMOUTH, from 
1606  to  1901,^^  John  Cvckson,  Minister. 


BOSTON 

Geo.  H.  Ellis  Co.,  272  Congress  Street 

1902 


Copyright 

;  V  John   C  uckson 

1902 


GBO.  H.  KLLIS  CO.,  PRINTERS,  272  CONGRBSS  ST.,  BOSTOM 


TO 

MRS.    WARREN    B.    POTTER, 

OF  BOSTON, 

I  dedicate  these  simple  annals  of  a  brave  and  sturdy  race,  in  grateful 

acknowledgment  of  her  loyal  and  generous  friendship. 


Contents 

CHAPTBR  FAGB 

Preface vi 

Introduction ix 

I.     Heresy  and  Schism i 

II.     The  Sojourn  in  Holland 8 

III.  Across  the  Atlantic 19 

IV.  "The  Wild  New  England  Shore" 29 

V.     Keeping  the  Faith 35 

VI.     Gain  and  Loss 4+ 

VII.     Stagnation  and  Revival 57 

VIII.     Creed,  or  No  Creed  ? 70 

TX.     Back  to  the  Past 82 

X.     Liberty  and  Progress 103 


Preface, 

THE  venerable  religious  society  —  the  First 
Church  of  Christ  in  Plymouth,  the  church 
of  the  Pilgrims  and  their  descendants  —  is 
approaching  the  tercentenary  of  its  birth.  That 
event  will  be  interesting  not  only  to  the  parish 
itself,  but  to  the  outside  world,  for  the  story 
of  heroic  adventure,  fortitude,  and  endurance,  of 
which  this  church  is  the  permanent  memorial,  does 
not  belong  to  one  age,  or  to  one  country.  It  has 
become  the  treasured  heritage  of  all  congregations 
founded  upon  freedom  and  self-government.  In 
order,  therefore,  that  the  present  generation  may 
become  better  acquainted  with  the  way  in  which 
their  sturdy  forefathers  walked,  and  the  principles 
which  guided  them  from  the  beginning,  and  from 
which  the  church  has  never  swerved,  I  have  thought 
the  occasion  opportune  for  the  putting  together  in 
brief  and  handy  form,  and  as  much  as  possible  apart 
from  the  general  history  of  Plymouth  Colony,  the 
most  important  items  in  the  religious  story  of  the 
Pilgrims.  The  main  ground  has  been  well-covered 
by  able  and  scholarly  men,  who  have  studied  Pil- 
grim history  in  its  general  bearings,  and  nothing 
new  can  be  added  to  the  facts,  which  they  have  ac- 
cumulated. All  that  is  attempted  here,  is  a  modest 
summary  from  the  larger  histories,  in  the  shape  of  a 
popular  text-book  for  the  use  of  the  general  reader, 
who  has  neither  the  leisure  nor  the  inclination,  to 
enter  into  a  detailed  study  of  the  rarer  and  costlier 

[vin 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


volumes.  The  authorities  which  have  been  con- 
sulted are,  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Planta- 
tion j6o6  to  1646^  Youngs  Chronicles  of  the  Pil- 
grims 1606  to  1624^  Records  of  the  First  Church  in 
Plymouth,  Founders  of  New  Plymouth  by  Rev. 
Joseph  Hunter,  Goodwin  s  Pilgrim  Republic,  Hon. 
W.  T.  Davis's  Ancient  Landmarks  of  Plymouth,  The 
Dictionary  of  National  Biography.  I  have  read 
many  other  books  on  the  same  subject,  histories  and 
records,  but  they  were  largely  compilations  from 
original  sources,  or  special  pleas  in  elucidation  or 
defense,  of  some  preconceived  theories  of  Pilgrim 
theology  or  church  polity. 

All  that  is  wanted  is  a  narrative  faithfully  and 
briefly  told,  in  which  the  facts  are  left  to  tell  their 
own  story  ;  and  I  shall  be  amply  satisfied,  if  this 
little  book,  by  its  clearness  and  accuracy,  leads  some 
of  its  readers,  to  study  more  completely  a  bit  of 
history  as  rich  in  characters  and  events,  interesting, 
romantic,  and  heroic,  as  any  in  the  annals  of  our 
race. 

JOHN    CUCKSON. 
Fair  Havens,  Plymouth,  Mass. 
1902. 


[  V"'  ] 


Introduction. 

THE  story   of  the   genesis   of   the    Pilgrim 
movement,  its    rise    in  England,  the  flight 
of  its    founders   to    Holland,  the    perilous 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  the  founding  of  a  new 
colony  in  America,  in    the    depth    of  winter,  and 
among  hostile  savages,  the  annals    of  persecution, 
suffering  and  death,  constitute    one    of  the    most 
interesting    and    inspiring    epics  in  the  history  of 
religion.      It  began    at  the  opening  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.     England  had  officially  renounced 
the    ecclesiastical   authority    of  Pope    Clement  the 
Seventh  and  accepted  that  of  Henry  the  Eighth. 
But,  as  the  ideas,  principles,  habits  of  a  nation,  in 
religious  matters,  are    not    easily  transplanted,  the 
incipient  Protestantism  of  the  age  was  only  a  crude 
growth.     The   passage  from   the  political   theology 
of  the  Vatican,  to  the   theological  politics  of  Lam- 
beth Palace,  was  but  a  short  step,  towards  the  com- 
plete enfranchisement  of  the  individual  mind  and 
conscience,  which  is  the  logical  result  of  the  Prot- 
estant principle.     People  who  had  been  disciplined 
for  ages,  to  mistrust  their  own  faculties  in  religious 
thmkmg,  were  slow  to  leave  what  seemed  to  them 
like    safe    anchorage,    and    to    trust    their    souls  to 
the   unauthorized    guidance    of  unconventional   re- 
formers, and  their  churches    to  the  secular  power. 
Many    of  them  parted  from  the  Papacy  with  re- 
luctance, and  clung    to  Episcopacy,   which  at  that 
time,  was   the    nearest    approach    to  it,  as    to    the 

[ix] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


outer  line  of  freedom,  beyond  which   was  nothmg 
but  chaos.     Others,  like  the  Presbyterians,  Brown- 
ists   Anabaptists,  Independents,  felt  and  acted  more 
courageously,  and  moved,  as  if  they  were  marchmg 
on    a  road  with  numerous   hostelries,  but  with   no 
rest  for  their  feet,  short  of  complete  liberty  for  the 
individual    conscience.      The  reigns  of   Mary  and 
Elizabeth  were  spotted    with  all   sorts  of   heresies 
and  schisms,  and  it  was  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
the  bishops  of  Rome,  and  of  the  New  Church  ot 
England,  looked  upon  the  Reformation  m  Europe, 
and  the  British  Isles,  as  an  ecclesiastical  Franken- 
stein, over  which  they   might  lose  control,  to  the 
lasting  harm  of  the  Christian  religion.     It  appeared 
to  th?m,  in  all  its  crude  shapes,  as  a  many-headed 
monster,  which  they  were  forced  to  combat,  even 
unto  death,  and  with  whatever  weapons  they  could 

command.  . 

The  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  vernac- 
ular and  the  slow  dissemination  of  biblical  knowl- 
edge among  the  people,  had  led  independent  and 
vigorous  minds,  to  read  and  think  for  themselves, 
and  to  study  the  Bible  without  gloss  or  comment. 
They  brought  to  this  study,  an  eager  thirst  tor  the 
truth,  and  an  unwarped  judgment,  which  no  creed 
could  inspire.     To  know  that  they  were  privileged 
to  read  the   sacred  message    themselves,  and    with 
such  light  as  God  had  given  them,  and  to  feel  that 
it  was  their  supreme  duty  to  stand  firmly  by  their 
own  convictions  and  the  dictates  of  conscience   gave 
them  that  moral  confidence  in  the  divmeness  ot  their 


1  iitrodnction 

mission,  which  in  larger  measure  filled  the  souls  of 
Luther,  Melancthon,  Calvin  and   Knox,  when  they 
drank  of  the  original  waters  of  life,  and  took  their 
faith  undiluted  from  the  gospels.     There  was  a  real- 
ity to  their  convictions,  when  they  read  the  clear  and 
simple  language  of  the    Scriptures,  which  did   not 
come  to  them  as  they  listened  to  the  second-hand 
jargon  of  the  creeds,  and  at  last,  they  were  satisfied, 
that  the  teachings  of  the  New   Testament,  and  of 
the  early  centuries  of  Christian  history,  were  in  a 
marked  degree   different   from  the    conflicting    and 
confusing  dogmas  of  later  ages.     No  wonder,  then, 
that  so  many  of  them  decided  to  renounce  "  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  elders,"  the  mere  husks  of  doctrinal 
controversy,  and  take  their  faith  from  the  Gospels 
themselves,  and  their  ecclesiastical  polity  from  the 
book  of  Acts  and  St.  Paul's  Epistles.     The  Bible,  as 
they  understood  it,  thus  became  the  charter  of  their 
religious  belief,  and  in  its  exposition,  they  were  sat- 
isfied that  neither  church  nor  priest  held  exclusive 
rights  or  privileges.     Christianity  as  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  taught  it,  with  individual  freedom  of  mind 
and  conscience,  and  without  coercion  and  persecu- 
tion, became  the  watchword  of  thousands  of  sturdy 
Protestants,  on  whom  the  light  of  the  Reformation 
was  dawning.     And,  there  never  has  been  a  great 
religious  party  of  Anglo-Saxons,  in  any  generation, 
who  set  the  right  of  private  judgment  and  the  im- 
perative  duty  of  supreme    loyalty   to   truth,  more 
boldly  in  the  forefront  of  their  lives,  and  praised 
other  things  less  in  comparison  with  religion,  than 

[xi] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

did  our  sturdy  Pilgrim  Fathers.  False  men  and 
hypocrites  crept  into  their  ranks,  but  the  grand  old 
leaders,  who  were  really  conscientious  and  devout, 
and  who  suffered  in  dark  days,  have  few  equals,  and 
no  superiors,  in  any  age  of  the  world's  history. 
The  characteristic  note  of  their  piety  was  this,  the 
sovereign  importance  which  it  attached  to  truth,  to 
the  secret  and  free  intercourse  of  every  living  soul 
with  God,  and  a  perfect  loyalty  to  God's  will ;  a 
piety  theirs,  not  of  holy  places  or  of  sacred  ritual,  or 
of  symbols  that  minister  to  the  imagination  —  a  piety 
personal,  intimate,  inward  ;  which  each  man  transacts 
with  his  Maker,  entering  alone,  as  they  put  it,  into 
covenant  with  God,  through  Jesus  Christ.  It  was 
that  lonely  communion  of  a  man  with  God,  in  which 
authority  demands  and  obedience  yields,  and  with 
which  no  stranger  is  permitted  to  meddle,  which 
made  them  great,  and  their  lives,  bereft  of  all  else, 
still  worth  living.  For  that,  they  were  prepared  to 
suffer  and  endure  ;  for  that,  they  were  contented  like 
Abraham  to  follow  the  divine  behest,  going  out,  not 
knowing  whither  they  went,  singlehanded,  if  need 
be  ;  at  all  cost,  with  loss  of  home  and  possessions,  if 
so  be,  they  might  better  acquit  them  like  men,  and 
honour  their  integrity.  Theirs  was  a  serious  and 
masterful  religion,  not  to  be  won  except  by  brave 
effort,  and  not  to  be  kept,  but  with  suffering  and 
loss.  It  was  a  religion  that  gripped  men  by  their 
consciences,  and  laid  on  their  souls  the  awful  man- 
date of  Heaven,  and  ruled  them  by  the  voice  of 
God. 

[xH] 


1  ntroduction 


But,  it  may  be  asked,  did  not  this  intensity  of 
faith,  lead  many  of  them  into  narrowness  and 
fanaticism  ?  Were  they  not  uncomfortable  people 
to  live  with?  In  the  midst  of  mendacity,  frivolity, 
immorality,  yes :  but,  surrounded  by  veracity, 
courage,  virtue,  no.  The  Pilgrim  was  unhappy 
himself,  and  the  source  of  unhappiness  to  others, 
in  the  midst  of  conditions  which  aroused  his  moral 
indignation ;  but,  he  was  contented  and  peaceful 
enough,  in  any  environment,  which  harmonized 
with  personal  and  public  virtue.  The  stalwart 
fathers  were  not  perfect.  They  lived  without  the 
light  of  modern  science  and  learning.  They  did 
not,  and  could  not,  understand  the  Scriptures  as 
they  are  understood  in  the  twentieth  century  ;  they 
had  not  our  helps  to  the  right  interpretation  of 
the  Bible ;  they  did  less  than  justice,  many  of 
them,  to  the  natural  beauties  of  Creation,  and  to 
the  innocent  felicities  of  life ;  they  set  the  stern 
sovereignty  of  God  above  the  Father's  love ;  but 
to  say  this,  is  only  to  say,  that  they  did  their  best 
in  a  bad  time.  Exaggerations,  limitations,  mis- 
takes, cling  to  men  in  every  age ;  but  in  spite  of 
these,  the  great  thing  was,  that  they  bore  their 
testimony  to  the  truth,  and  asserted  their  freedom, 
in  an  age,  when  men  cared  nothing  for  the  one, 
and  were  doing  their  best  to  crush  out  the  other. 
It  did  not  occur  to  them  to  stop  and  parley  with 
prudential  considerations,  or  wait  to  see  what 
loyalty  to  righteousness  would  cost  them  ;  but  they 
heard  the  divine  voice,  and  sought  to  make  it  the 

[xiii] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

rule  of  their  lives,  preferring  the  life  of  heroic  duty 
with  all  its  hard  experiences,  to  a  useless  enjoyment 
of  social  respectability  or  self-indulgence,  in  which 
there  is  no  moral  worth  whatever. 

There  is  also  another  point  worth  remembering. 
Our  Pilgrim  Fathers  not  only  fled  from  persecu- 
tion on  account  of  their  opinions,  but  also  from  the 
deadening  and  desolating  influence  of  Sacerdotalism 
and  ceremony.  The  creeds  entered  into  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer.  And  religion  among  their  con- 
temporaries had  degenerated  into  superstitious 
formality.  Devotional  liturgies  rested  upon  a 
framework  of  dogma,  in  which  they  did  not  be- 
lieve, and  were  full  of  phrases  and  ascriptions,  they 
could  not  honestly  repeat.  It  was  to  get  rid  of 
this,  quite  as  much  as  to  escape  the  tyranny  of  false 
opinion,  that  they  reluctantly  but  resolutely  for- 
sook the  Church,  and  worshipped  apart  in  the  cold 
shadow  of  despised  dissent. 

They  were  not  sectaries  delighting  in  separation. 
For  a  long  period  they  hesitated  to  break  away 
from  the  ancient  church  with  its  prestige  and  noble 
history.  They  refused  to  organize  themselves  or 
to  ordain  their  own  ministers,  until  nothing  else 
was  left  for  them  to  do.  The  love  of  union  and 
fellowship  was  deep  and  strong  within  them,  but 
they  felt  it  must  be  union  in  the  midst  of  diversity, 
the  fellowship  of  minds  which  cannot  think  alike, 
and  not  the  profligate  sentimentalism  which  on  the 
surface,  but  nowhere  else,  looks  like  a  love-feast  of 
sects. 

[xiv] 


I  ntroductlon 


In  this  respect,  we  have  much  to  learn  from  them. 
Our  own  age,  which  differs  so  widely  from  theirs,  is 
yet,  in  the  matter  of  religious  fellowship  on  a  broad 
and  catholic  basis,  in  much  the  same  condition.  If 
we  imagine  that  the  evils  against  which  they  con- 
tended have  passed  away,  we  imagine  a  vain  thing. 
The  old  ecclesiastical  spirit  of  intolerance  and  ex- 
clusion, though  harmless  as  compared  with  what  it 
was  three  centuries  ago,  is  with  us  still.  Except 
in  comparatively  few  minds  in  every  church,  religion 
is  a  thing  of  sects  and  creeds,  and  the  lines  of  separa- 
tion on  the  score  of  opinion  are  strictly  drawn.  The 
spirit  of  the  age  is  in  advance  of  the  churches,  and 
rebukes  bigotry  every  time  it  shows  itself;  but  the 
barriers  between  one  ecclesiastical  sheepfold  and 
another,  are  as  high  and  as  strong  as  ever,  except  in 
isolated  spots.  The  tasks  which  engaged  our 
spiritual  forefathers  are  yet  unfinished,  and  the 
duties  which  shaped  the  action  of  Robinson,  Brews- 
ter, Bradford,  and  Winslow,  have  lost  none  of  their 
imperativeness  for  this  generation.  Love  and  service 
have  not  yet  supplanted  dogma  and  exclusiveness, 
as  the  foundation  of  fellowship,  although  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  was  so  clear  and  emphatic.  And  the 
duty  is  incumbent  upon  us,  of  seeing  when  the  time 
arrives  for  a  great  approach  and  reconciliation  of 
Protestant  sects,  that  the  terms  shall  be  so  inclusive 
and  liberal,  that  every  succeeding  generation  shall 
delight  to  add  a  new  link  to  the  chain. 

In  the  meantime,  much  light  and  leading  may  be 
drawn  from  the  character  and  experience  of  those, 

[XV] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

who  in  lonely  exile,  and  comparative  freedom  from 
prejudice  and  meddlesome  interference,  laid  the 
foundations,  broad  and  deep,  of  the  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty,  upon  which  alone,  an  enlightened 
and  durable  civilization  can  be  reared. 


[xvi] 


A   BRIEF   HISTORY  of  the  FIRST 
CHURCH      IN     PLYMOUTH 

CHAPTER    I. 

Heresy   and    Schism. 

THE  Protestant  Reformation  in  England 
lacked  cohesion  and  consistency.  It  did 
not  follow  any  clearly  defined  lines,  but  was 
sporadic,  breaking  out  here  and  there,  in  indepen- 
dent movements,  which  were  not  only  unrelated,  but 
often  fiercely  hostile  to  each  other.  One  of  these 
departures  from  the  church  established  by  law,  began 
near  the  North  East  Coast,  at  the  point  where  the 
three  counties  ofYork, Nottingham,  and  Lincoln, con- 
verged. The  little  towns  of  Gainsborough,  Scrooby, 
and  Austerfield,  sheltered  a  group  of  scholarly, 
brave,  zealous  inquirers,  who  quietly  and  for 
conscience  sake,  nourished  their  liberty,  and  without 
knowing  it,  were  fanning  a  flame,  which  was  destined 
to  become  a  beacon  light  of  history.  One  John 
Smyth  was  at  the  head  of  a  Brownist  community 
at  Gainsborough.  William  Bradford,  religiously 
disposed  from  his  early  youth,  was  brooding  in- 
tently on  the  signs  of  the  times,  at  Austerfield. 
William  Brewster  relieved  from  the  cares  of  diplomacy 
and  court  intrigue,  was  wrestling  with  the  religious 


•The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

problems  of  his  day,  in  the  quiet  retreat  of  Scrooby 
Manor.     All  of  them  were  touched  by  the  new  light 

which  was  breaking  upon  the  religion  of 
Scrooby  England,  and  were  cherishing  a  more  than 
1606'     common  interest,  in  the   deep    things   of  a 

nation's  spiritual  life,  grave,  devout  men, 
concerned  about  the  morals  and  manners  of  the 
age,  and  satisfied  that  the  Church  of  Christ  was 
drifting  farther  and  farther  from  its  Scriptural 
moorings.  The  National  Church  was  Anti-Christ. 
It  had  erred  from  the  true  faith  of  the  Gospels.  Its 
bishops  and  ordained  clergy  were  worldly.  Its 
church  members  were  too  frequently  wanton  and 
evil-livers ;  and  beliefs  which  should  commend 
themselves  to  the  minds  and  consciences  of  men, 
and  ought  not  to  be  accepted  in  any  other  way,  were 
being  forced  upon  them  by  laws,  temporal  and 
spiritual.  What  could  these  men  do  ?  It  was  against 
their  consciences  to  feign  satisfaction  with  things 
as  they  were,  and  to  make  no  protest.  It  was 
cowardly  to  consent  to  what  was  untrue,  and  crimi- 
nal not  to  raise  their  voices  in  rebuke  of  wickedness 
in  high  places.  Their  own  deep  needs,  and  the 
spiritual  hunger  of  those  about  them,  made  it  nec- 
essary for  them  to  meet  together,  whenever  and 
wherever,  they  could  safely  do  so,  to  worship  in 
secret,  like  the  persecuted  Covenanters  of  Scotland 
and  Huguenots  of  France.  The  views  they  held 
were  heretical.  The  protests,  they  felt  called  upon 
to  make  against  the  teaching  and  ritual  of  the 
powerful  churches   of  their  day,  laid  them  open  to 


Heresy    and    Schism 


fine  and  imprisonment.  And,  yet,  the  impulse  to 
preach  and  to  pray,  and  the  obligation  to  prophesy, 
was  irresistible.  They  could  not  be  indifferent 
and  would  not  be  silent. 

The  leader  in  this  daring  movement  was  William 
Brewster  (1560  ?-i  644),  who  belonged  to  a  good 
family,  received  an  excellent  education,  and  was  for 
some  time  at  Cambridge  University.  After  leaving 
College,  he,  probably  in  1584,  entered  the  service 
of  William  Davison,  ambassador,  and  afterwards 
Secretary  of  State  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  He  was 
accounted  a  man  of  marked  probity  and  practical 
sagacity,  skilled  in  business  affairs,  and  commanding 
the  confidence  of  his  employers.  He  accompanied 
Davison  on  a  mission  to  the  Netherlands  in  1585, 
and  remained  in  his  service  until  1587,  when,  as 
Bradford  informs  us,  "  he  retired  into  the  country," 
and  at  Scrooby  Manor-House,  where  he  resided,  and 
had  charge  of  the  postal-service,  he  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  John  Smyth,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
a  Separatist  community  at  Gainsborough  (1602), 
and  by  whom  he  was  greatly  influenced,  until  he 
developed  a  strong  personal  interest  in  religion,  and 
in  "good  preaching."  Here  in  this  historic  house, 
which  had  sheltered  Margaret,  Queen  of  Scotland, 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  Henry  the  Eighth,  Brewster 
gathered  about  him,  able  and  godly  clergymen  and 
laymen,  lovers  of  freedom  and  haters  of  religious 
persecution,  Puritans  and  Brownists,  who  found  in 
their  host  an  ardent  and  generous  sympathizer. 
On  the  Lord's  Day,  we  are  told,  that  Brewster  "  en- 

[3] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

tertained  with  great  love,"  this  group  of  godly- 
heretics,  who  without  binding  themselves  to  any 
formal  creed  or  ritual,  such  as  those  by  which  the 
age  was  so  grievously  tormented,  "joyned  them- 
selves, (by  a  covenant  of  the  Lord)  into  a  church 
estate,  in  ye  fellowship  of  ye  Gospel,  to  walke  in  all 
his  ways,  made  known,  or  to  be  made  known,  ac- 
cording to  their  best  endeavours,  whatsoever  it  should 
cost  them,  the  Lord  assisting  them." 

It  soon  became  obvious  that  the  little  community 
needed  a  preacher  and  pastor,  and  it  fell  to  the  lot 

of  one  Richard  Clyfton,  some- 
Richard  Clyfton  time  Vicar  of  Marnham  in  Not- 
1606.  tinghamshire,    and    later.   Rector 

of  Babworth,  near  Scrooby,  to  be- 
come the  first  shepherd  of  the  flock.  He  was  well 
known  in  that  vicinity  as  a  scholarly  and  godly  man, 
beloved  by  people  of  varying  belief,  "  a  grave  and 
reverend  preacher."  Though  somewhat  advanced 
in  life,  he  was  active  and  energetic,  and  had  made 
himself  greatly  beloved,  throughout  the  outlying 
towns  and  villages.  The  fact  that  he  was  a  bene- 
ficed clergyman  did  not  prevent  him  from  affilia- 
tion with  heretics,  or  others  similarly  situated, 
from  being  members  or  ministers  of  dissenting  con- 
gregations. It  is  conjectured  that  John  Robinson 
1576?— 1625,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  and  curate  in 
the  Established  Church,  a  man  of  great  natural  gifts 
and  scholarly  attainments  joined  the  Scrooby  com- 
munity in  1607.  He  became  associated  with  Clyf- 
ton as  teacher  of  religious  doctrine,  and  with 
William  Brewster,  as  ruling  elder. 

[4] 


M  e  r  e  s  y    and    Schism 


The  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  were  on  the 
alert  for  heretics,  and  their  attention  was  soon  drawn 
to  this  little  group  of  religious  reformers.  After  the 
church  had  held  together  about  a  year,  modestly 
exercising  its  independence,  and  doing  a  quiet  relig- 
ious work,  in  its  own  way,  it  was  suddenly  scattered 
bv  relentless  persecution.  Prelacy  was  bent  upon 
restoring  such  men  to  its  fold,  or  harrying  them  out 
of  the  land.  There  was  no  safety  except  in  recanta- 
tion, or  in  flight.  They  would  not  recant,  and  were 
forced  to  think  of  exile.  Some  set  out  for  Holland, 
but  the  captain,  in  whose  ship  they  had  taken  pass- 
age from  Boston,  betrayed  them,  and  their  leader 
William  Brewster  was  imprisoned,  and  "  bound  over 
to  the  Court  of  Assize."  In  the  summer  of  1608, 
they  were  more  fortunate.  A  Dutch  skipper,  await- 
ing a  cargo  at  Hull,  agreed  to  take  them  to  Hol- 
land. They  were  to  meet  him  at  a  spot  on  the 
coast  between  Hull  and  Grimsby,  far  enough  away 
from  any  town.  A  small  bark  was  engaged  to  take 
them  to  the  appointed  place,  and  at  the  time  fixed 
they  gathered  on  the  shore,  but  owing  to  delay  on 
the  part  of  the  vessel  which  was  to  carry  them  away, 
and  difficulties  with  their  own  boat,  the  authorities 
were  apprised  of  their  escape,  and  while  the  men, 
women,  children  and  cargo,  were  being  embarked, 
they  suddenly  descried  the  approach  of  a  great  com- 
pany, both  on  horse  and  on  foot,  with  bills  and 
guns  and  weapons  who  had  arrived  to  prevent  their 
escape.  The  fugitives  were  thrown  into  confusion. 
Some  were  on  board  the  Dutch  vessel,  others  were 


[5] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

on  shore,  families  were  divided,  their  goods  were 
confiscated,  wives  were  separated  from  their  hus- 
bands, and  children  from  their  parents.  Those  on 
board  the  ship  asked  to  be  put  on  shore  again, 
dreading  to  be  torn  from  those  they  loved,  and  to 
leave  their  families  helpless  and  destitute,  but  the 
captain  would  not  yield.  He  weighed  anchor,  spread 
sails,  and  amid  tears  and  grief  inexpressible,  the  once 
united  and  happy  families  were  ruthlessly  torn 
asunder.  Their  cup  of  misery  was  not  even  then 
quite  full.  They  encountered  a  fearful  storm  at  sea, 
in  which  they  saw  neither  moon  nor  stars,  and  were 
driven  towards  the  coast  of  Norway.  For  fourteen 
days  they  were  in  peril  on  the  sea,  often  expecting 
every  moment  that  the  vessel  would  founder,  dis- 
tracted with  fears,  and  crying  unto  the  Lord  to  save 
them.  Finally,  after  much  anguish  and  suffering 
they  arrived  in  Amsterdam.  The  fate  of  those  that 
were  left  ashore  was  not  less  fearful.  They  fled 
from  the  soldiers,  some  making  good  their  escape, 
and  others,  prevented  by  family  ties,  remaining  to 
take  care  of  the  women  and  children.  Many  of 
them  were  apprehended,  and  hurried  from  one  court 
to  another,  destitute,  tormented,  afllicted,  until  it 
was  hard  to  know  what  to  do  with  them.  Women 
and  children  were  homeless,  friendless,  forsaken,  ex- 
posed to  the  cold,  and  fainting  for  lack  of  food. 
After  their  long  misery,  the  sky  cleared,  and  a  way 
was  opened  for  them,  and  in  the  end,  as  Bradford 
graphically  tells  us,  "  notwithstanding  all  these 
stormes  of  opposition,  they  all  gatt  over  at  length, 

[6] 


Heresy    and    Schism 


some  at  one  time  and  some  at  another,  and  some  in 
one  place  and  some  in  another,  and  mette  togeather 
againe  according  to  their  desires,  with  no  small 
rejoycing." 


C7] 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Sojourn  in  Holland. 

THE  capital  of  the  Netherlands  afforded 
safe  shelter  for  persecuted  fugitives,  who 
were  sober,  thrifty,  peaceable  and  law-abid- 
ing. The  Scrooby  contingent  did  not,  therefore, 
find  themselves  strangers  in  a  strange  land.  Two 
Separatist  communities  from  England 
Amsterdam  were  already  settled  there,  one  which 
1608.  had  fled  from   London  in   1593,  pre- 

sided over  by  Francis  Johnson,  pastor, 
and  Henry  Ainsworth,  teacher;  and  the  other  from 
Gainsborough,  at  the  head  of  which  was  their  old 
friend  John  Smyth.  The  former  was  a  large  and 
flourishing  church,  numbering  three  hundred  com- 
municants, the  latter,  which  had  existed  there  little 
more  than  a  year,  was  not  so  strong.  The  fact, 
that  Amsterdam  since  1573,  had  harbored  all  sorts 
of  heresies,  and  had  become  famous  in  prose  and 
verse,  as  the  breeding  ground  of  schisms,  was  not 
favorable  to  the  possibilities  of  unity  and  concord 
among  the  new  settlers,  who  after  separation  and 
delay  were  at  last  united,  with  John  Robinson  and 
William  Brewster  at  their  head.  The  two  existing 
congregations  were  not  at  peace  among  themselves. 
They  were  torn  by  controversies  and  dissensions  in 
which  the  Scrooby  Pilgrims  had  no  part,  but  into 
which  they  might  easily  be  drawn.  It  was  therefore 
decided,  that  in  the  interests  of  the  community,  it 

[8] 


The    Sojourn    in    Holland 


would  be  better  to  retire  from  the  scene  of  so  much 
ungodly  strite,  and  to  seek  a  home  elsewhere,  more 
favorable  to  their  religious  development.  On  the 
1 2th  of  February  1609,  they  obtained  permission 
from  the  authorities  of  Leyden  to  settle  there,  and 
on  the  ist  of  May  they  removed  thither.  Amster- 
dam was  the  centre  of  bustling  commerce,  while 
Leyden,  though  possessing  great  manufact- 
Leyden  uring  industries,  especially,  the  spinning 
1600.  and  weaving  of  cloth,  was  above  all  else 
academic.  Its  famous  university  opened  in 
1575,  attracted  students  from  foreign  lands,  and 
continued,  through  the  fame  of  such  professors  as 
Lipsius,Vossius,  Heinsius,  Gronovius,  Hemsterhuis, 
Ruhuken,  Valckenaer,  Scaliger,  Descartes,  and  Boer- 
haave,  to  be  an  intellectual  power  in  Europe.  Here, 
the  problems  of  learning,  of  philosophy,  of  theol- 
ogy, and  biblical  exegesis,  were  discussed  with  abso- 
lute freedom,  and  before  an  audience  sufficiently 
large  and  interested,  to  produce  at  times  unusual 
excitement. 

When  the  Pilgrims  arrived  in  Holland,  they  were 
without  a  pastor.  Clyfton  felt  the  infirmities  of  ad- 
vancing years   a   sufficient   obstacle    to    emigration. 

Still,  John  Robinson  and  William 
'John  Robinson  Brewster,  who  were  the  last  of  the 
1600.  original  flock  to  reach  Amsterdam, 

remained  with  them.  The  former 
was  elected,  and  publicly  ordained  to  be  their  min- 
ister, the  latter  was  chosen  as  their  elder.  The 
society  numbered  about  one  hundred  members,  and 


[9] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

steadily  increased  to  three  hundred.  There  were 
three  deacons,  two  of  whom,  were  John  Carver  and 
Samuel  Fuller.  After  a  while,  they  purchased  a 
large  dwelling,  which  in  1611  was  used  as  pastor's 
residence  and  meeting-house.  It  stood  under  the 
shadow  of  the  belfry  tower  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
and  in  the  rear  of  it,  twenty-one  cottages  were 
erected  for  poor  emigrants. 

The  Pilgrims  commended  themselves  by  their 
devoutness  and  high  character  to  the  citizens  of 
Levden,  who  showed  them  great  consideration,  and 
would  have  emphasized  this  respect  still  more,  but 
for  the  fear  of  offending  England.  The  magistrates 
of  the  city  were  wont  to  contrast  their  peaceable 
demeanour  with  the  strifes  and  quarrels  of  refugees 
from  other  nations.  "  These  English  "  said  they, 
"  have  lived  among  us  now  these  twelve  years,  and 
yet  we  never  had  any  suit  or  accusation  come 
against  any  of  them."  They  were  of  the  type  of 
citizens  adding  strength  and  quality  to  any  com- 
munity. Their  pastor,  was  first  and  last  a  preacher 
and  teacher,  and  concerned  himself  with  his  proper 
function,  not  turning  aside  to  alien  issues  however 
tempting,  but  laboring  incessantly  to  build  up  the 
lives  of  his  flock,  on  the  truths  and  principles  of 
the  Gospel,  and  in  all  the  ways  of  pure  and  godly 
living.  He  was  not  contentious,  except  where  the 
vital  interests  of  sound  doctrine  were  concerned, 
and  when  error  w^as  calculated  to  sap  the  foundation 
of  public  morals.  Now,  and  then,  as  in  the  con- 
troversy on  i\.rminianism  he  entered  into  scholastic 

[10] 


Ihe    Sojourn    in    Holland 


disputes.  The  old  controversy  between  Arniinius 
and  Gomarus  had  been  revived  in  Leyden,  under 
new  leaders.  The  two  professors,  Polyander  and 
Episcopius,  were  in  hot  dispute  on  the  nature  of 
God's  power  and  purpose  in  creation,  and  in 
human  history.  Polyander  was  the  champion  of 
Calvinism,  which  at  the  close  of  the  i6th  century 
was  dominant  in  Holland;  and  Episcopius,  the 
successor  of  Arminius  in  the  chair  of  theology  at 
Leyden,  was  the  defender  of  the  anti-Calvinistic 
school  of  opinion,  which  not  only  created  the  Re- 
monstrant Church  in  Holland,  but  pervaded  much 
of  the  neo-Protestantism  of  England. 

The  Calvinistic  position  on  this  question  is  set 
forth  in  Calvin's  Instituiio  Christian<£  Religionis, 
written  in  early  manhood,  but  subject  to  constant 
revision  in  later  life,  and  may  be  briefly  stated. 

1.  Man  was  made  in  the  image  of  God.  Adam 
fell  from  this  state,  and  involved  the  race  in  his 
fall. 

2.  Redemption  from  this  state  is  by  the  incarna- 
tion of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  But  until  a  man  is 
united  to  Christ,  so  as  to  partake  of  him,  there  is  no 
salvation.  Through  faith,  and  by  the  secret  and 
special  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  believer 
after  repentance,  and  newness  of  life,  receives  as- 
surance and  justification.  His  sins  are  forgiven,  he 
is  accepted  of  God.  This  assurance  rests  upon  the 
divine  choice  of  man  to  salvation,  and  this  falls  back 
on  God's  eternal  sovereign  purpose  whereby  he  has 
predestined  some   to  eternal  life,  while  the  rest  of 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

mankind  are  predestined  to  condemnation  and  eter- 
nal death. 

3.  The  external  aids  to  union  with  Christ,  are  the 
church  and  its  ordinances,  especially  the  sacrament. 
The  Church  universal  is  the  multitude  gathered  from 
all  nations,  who  agree  in  one  common  faith  ;  and 
wherever  the  word  of  God  is  sincerely  preached, 
and  the  sacraments  are  duly  administered,  accord- 
ing to  Christ's  institute,  there  beyond  doubt  is  a 
church  of  the  living  God. 

The  Arminian  contention  as  stated  by  Simon 
Episcopius  is  as  follows  :  — 

1.  The  decree  of  God  is,  when  it  concerns  his 
own  actions  absolute ;  but  when  it  concerns  man's, 
conditional,  i.  e.,  the  decree  relative  to  the  Saviour 
to  be  appointed,  and  the  salvation  to  be  provided  is 
absolute,  but  the  decree  relative  to  the  persons 
saved  or  condemned  is  made  to  depend  on  the 
acts  —  belief  and  repentance  in  the  one  case,  unbe- 
lief and  impenitence  in  the  other — of  the  persons 
themselves. 

2.  The  Providence  or  orovernment  of  God  while 
sovereign  is  exercised  in  harmony  with  the  nature 
of  the  creatures  governed,  i.  e.,  the  sovereignity  of 
God  is  so  exercised  as  to  be  compatible  with  the 
freedom  of  man. 

3.  Man  is  by  original  nature,  through  the  assist- 
ance of  divine  grace,  free,  able  to  will  and  perform 
the  right ;  but  is  in  his  fallen  state,  of  and  by  him- 
self, unable  to  do  so  ;  needs  to  be  regenerated  in  all 
his  powers  before  he  can  do  what  is  good  and  pleas- 
ing to  God. 

[12] 


The    Sojourn    in    Holland 


4.  Divine  grace  originates,  maintains  and  perfects 
all  the  good  in  man,  so  much  so  that  he  cannot, 
though  regenerate,  conceive,  or  will,  or  do  any  good 
thing  without  it. 

5.  The  saints  possess  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  sufficient  strength  to  persevere  to  the  end  in 
spite  of  sin  and  flesh,  but  may  so  decline  from 
sound  doctrine  as  to  cause  divine  grace  to  be  inef- 
fectual. 

6.  Every  believer  may  be  certain  or  assured  of 
his  own  salvation. 

7.  It  is  possible  for  a  regenerate  man  to  live 
without  sin.* 

This  controversy,  which  in  a  variety  of  ways  re- 
peats itself  in  the  later  history  of  the  Pilgrims, 
ended,  as  such  debates  usually  end,  with  both  sides 
claiming  the  victory.  The  exiles  were  proud  of 
their  champion,  and  were  satisfied  that  he  had  come 
out  of  the  conflict  triumphantlv,  and  had  "  non- 
plussed "  his  opponent ;  and  others,  who  were  not 
biassed  as  to  the  issue,  freely  admitted  that  Robin- 
son had  borne  himself  with  courage,  and  courtesy, 
and  skill,  and  learning,  against  one  of  the  ablest  dis- 
putants of  the  age.  Indeed,  he  was  in  every 
respect  a  remarkable  man,  scholarly  yet  modest; 
liberal,  yet  free  from  the  extravagant  license  of  his 
age ;  religiously  earnest  and  strenuous,  yet  destitute 
of  anything  like  narrowness  and  bigotry;  conserva- 
tive as  to  the  faith  and  principles  of  the  New 
Testament,    though  averse   to    creeds  and  dogmas 

*  Bricannica  Encyclopaedia  Article  Arminius  Vol  II. 
['3] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

having  no  sure  foundation  in  the  Gospels,  and 
properly  belonging  to  later  ages ;  clinging  to  the 
truth  of  the  past,  as  it  was  held  in  his  day,  the  com- 
monly accepted  Augustinian  theology  with  Calvin- 
istic  emendations,  but  eager  to  keep  himself,  and 
the  church  over  which  he  presided,  open  to  the 
new  light,  which  ever  breaks  forth  from  the  word 
of  God.  His  growth  was  not  stunted,  but  pro- 
gressive ;  and  though  he  wrote  many  books  and 
pamphlets,  more  or  less  critical,  nothing  that  he 
ever  wrote  so  completely  expressed  his  mind  and 
character,  and  revealed  his  true  attitude  towards  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  as 
the  noble  address  to  the  departing  Pilgrims,  in 
which  he  warned  them  against  stagnation  of  thought, 
and  finality  of  belief,  and  the  baneful  tendency  to 
build  tabernacles  on  some  mountain  of  theological 
speculation  —  one  for  Luther,  one  for  Calvin,  and 
one  for  Arminius.  His  mind  was  of  the  type 
which  resists  foreclosure,  lies  open  to  the  light,  and 
adjusts  itself  to  whatever  truth  of  nature  or  of  life 
presents  satisfactory  credentials ;  which  is  always 
broad  enough,  to  do  justice  to  opinions,  it  cannot 
wholly  share.  Not  owning  allegiance  to  any  stereo- 
typed creed,  he  refused  to  set  the  seal  of  his  author- 
ity upon  any  compendium  of  divinity,  or  final 
theological  statement,  however  small,  for  the  use 
of  his  followers ;  and  so  the  Scrooby  covenant, 
simple,  positive,  practical,  undogmatic,  remained,  in 
Holland,  and  later  in  New  England,  the  only  com- 
pass by  which  the  fathers  guided  themselves  through 

[14] 


The    S  o  j  o  u  r  n    in    Holland 


the  turbid  waters  of  religious  controversy,  by  which 
they  were  so  frequently  surrounded.  It  was  the 
all-sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice  at  Scrooby, 
at  Amsterdam,  at  Leyden,  at  Plymouth,  and  is  to 
this  day,  at  the  end  of  three  centuries,  an  adequate 
bond  of  Christian  fellowship. 

It  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  powerful  in- 
fluence of  John  Robinson  upon  the  Pilgrims. 
He  swayed  the  minds  of  men  like  Brewster, 
Bradford,  Carver  and  Winslow,  who  in  many  re- 
spects were  his  equals,  as  with  magic.  He  com- 
manded their  confidence  and  respect,  while  he  was 
near  them,  and  when  the  ocean  divided  him  from 
them,  they  kept  his  name  and  character  in  unfad- 
ing remembrance.  The  spirit  and  polity  of  the 
church  in  Plymouth  owed  its  continued  existence  to 
him,  and  preserved  its  integrity  during  the  first  try- 
ing years  of  American  exile,  through  his  sagacious 
counsel,  and  against  the  subtle  blandishments  of  the 
Adventurers  in  London,  and  the  dislike  and  sus- 
picion of  the  unmitred  prelates  of  Salem.  The 
Church  was  Separatist  in  Leyden,  and  remained 
Separatist  and  independent  through  its  long  struggle 
in  the  wilderness  of  New  England.  It  stood  alone, 
and  held  its  own,  maintaining  friendly  relations  with 
kindred  communities,  but  always  jealously  guard- 
ing its  freedom,  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
liberty  of  the  individual  conscience,  and  the  abso- 
lute right  of  self-government. 

And,  in  the  annals  of  that  time,  when  civil  and 
religious  liberty  was  only  beginning  to  be    under- 

['5] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

stood,  the  temper  and  attitude  of  this  Httle  com- 
munity and  its  pastor  were  remarkable.  It  is  true 
that  more  than  a  hundred  years  before  the  Pilgrims 
sailed  from  Holland,  Sir  Thomas  More  had  written 
his  Utopia,  or  ideal  of  a  State,  in  which  he  had  de- 
clared that  Utopus  the  founder,  had  made  a  law, 
that  every  man  might  be  of  whatever  religion  he 
pleased,  and  might  endeavour  to  draw  others  to  it, 
by  force  of  argument,  and  by  amicable  and  modest 
ways  ;  but  those  who  used  reproaches  or  violence 
in  their  attempts  were  to  be  condemned  to  banish- 
ment. Nevertheless,  this  view  of  religious  tolera- 
tion was  looked  upon  in  that  age,  as  it  is  in  many 
quarters  even  now,  as  altogether  visionary  and  im- 
practicable, and  he  who  taught  it,  one  of  the  seren- 
est  and  most  beautiful  souls  in  history,  was  only 
like  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Not  until 
the  years  1644  and  1647  when  John  Milton  issued 
his  "  Areopagitica,  or  speech  for  the  liberty  of  un- 
licensed printing,"  and  Jeremy  Taylor  published 
his  "  Liberty  of  Prophesying,"  more  than  twenty 
years  after  the  Mayflower  started  on  her  eventful 
voyage,  was  there  any  attempt  in  England  to  set 
forth  the  true  principles  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty. Yet,  the  exiles  at  Leyden  were  illustrating 
ideas  and  principles,  learned  in  the  hard  school  of 
persecution  and  suffering,  to  which  later  generations 
have  added  little,  and  from  which  they  have  had  lit- 
tle to  take  away.  It  was  enough  for  them,  that  they 
recognized  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture,  the  validity 
of  reason  and  conscience  under  divine  control,  the 

[16] 


The    Sojourn    in    Holland 


spiritual  authority  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  plain  teach- 
ing of  the  Gospels,  and  the  necessity  to  salvation, 
ot  personal  godliness.  Practical  loyalty  to  their 
great  spiritual  Head,  was  what  concerned  them 
most,  and  made  them  such  rigid  disciplinarians,  in 
matters  of  conduct  and  character.  Vice  was  the 
worst  heresy  with  which  they  had  to  deal.  They 
were  less  careful,  all  through  their  history,  that 
their  followers  should  agree  or  disagree  with  their 
views,  than  that  they  should  walk  justly  and  cir- 
cumspectly, and  live  pure  and  upright  lives.  John 
Calvin  set  himself  to  purify  the  State,  and  estab- 
lish the  government  of  Geneva,  upon  a  Christian 
basis,  stamping  out  vice  and  crime,  and  ruling 
shameless  iniquity  with  a  rod  of  iron.  And  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  thoroughly  believed  in  the  feasi- 
bility of  a  Christian  Republic,  in  which  pure  living 
was,  in  the  Apostolic  sense,  equivalent  to  sound 
doctrine,  and  personal  righteousness  the  best  proof 
of  salvation. 

This  accounts,  in  large  measure,  for  the  compara- 
tive absence  among  them,  of  pitiful  wrangling  about 
words,  which  characterized  so  many  of  their  con- 
temporaries, and  the  concentration  of  their  energy 
and  enthusiasm  upon  the  growth  of  Christian  morals 
and  manners,  in  their  community.  Sinners  of  the 
obdurate  type  always  gave  them  the  greatest  trouble, 
and  neither  wealth,  social  status,  nor  any  other  con- 
sideration, could  save  such  from  their  stern  con- 
demnation. All  who  wished  to  enter  their  society, 
or  stay  there,  must  not  by  their  conduct  or  bearing, 

[•7] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

bring  reproach  upon  the  community.  They  were 
resolved,  that  the  church  should  set  the  style  of 
living  for.  the  world,  and  not  the  world  for  the 
church.  "They  came  as  near  the  primitive  pattern 
of  the  first  churches,  as  any  other  churches  of  these 
latter  times,  hath  done,  according  to  their  rank  and 
quality."* 

*  Bradford,  First  Church  Records. 


[i8] 


CHAPTER    III. 

Across    the    Atlantic. 

THE  English  element  in  the  Leyden  Con- 
gregation, never  seemed  to  outgrow  the 
feeling,  that  though  in  the  enjoyment  of 
larger  liberty,  and  security  from  cruel  oppression, 
they  were  sojourners  in  a  strange  land.  They 
hoped,  almost  against  hope,  that  some  change 
for  the  better  would  take  place,  either  dynastic  or 
ecclesiastical,  which  would  enable  them  to  return  to 
their  homes  in  England.  But,  the  change  never 
came,  and  as  early  as  1617,  they  contemplated 
emigration  to  America.  Leyden  did  not  provide 
as  manv  opportunities  for  such  work  as  they  could 
do,  as  Amsterdam.  Some  were  skilled  mechanics, 
others  quickly  picked  up  handicrafts  of  one  sort  or 
another,  but  quite  a  number  were  unskilled,  and 
at  their  wit's  end  to  know  how  to  earn  a  hving. 
The  old  world  was  evervwhere,  becoming  too 
narrow  and  contracted  for  its  teeming  populations, 
and  a  refuge  was  needed  from  oppression  and  star- 
vation. And,  as  the  Pilgrims  brooded  over  their 
hardships,  and  daily  wrestled  with  the  hard  problem 
of  existence,  the  vision  of  life  in  some  distant 
colony  under  the  British  Crown,  was  not  without 
its  fascinations.  They  were  strong,  thrifty,  daring, 
and,  if  only  means  of  transportation  could  be  found, 
the  goodness  of  God  and  their  own  enterprise 
might    be    trusted     to    do    the  rest.     Tidings    had 

[19] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


reached  them,  of  the  fitting  out  of  commercial  ex- 
peditions from  England,  to  her  various  colonies, 
and  their  only  hope  seemed  to  lie,  in  being  able  to 
join  one  of  these.  They,  therefore,  sent  John 
Carver  and  Robert  Cushman  to  London,  to  nego- 
tiate a  scheme,  which  had  been  carefully  prepared, 
by  which  they  might  be  transported  to  America. 
London  was  the  centre  of  commercial  enterprise, 
and  adventurous  companies  were  investing  their 
wealth  in  opening  up  new  fields  of  business,  and 
laying  the  foundations  of  that  commercial  suprem- 
acy which  was  to  put  the  world  under  trib- 
ute. They  took  with  them  a  document,  which 
was  evidence  of  their  loyalty  and  good  faith,  signed 
by  John  Robinson  and  William  Brewster,  setting 
forth  in  seven  articles,  the  conditions  to  which  they 
would  pledge  themselves,  in  starting  out  on  the 
projected  enterprise.  Their  purpose,  at  least  in  its 
inception  was  not  purely  religious.  They  had 
struggled  with  hopeless  poverty  long  enough,  and 
longed  to  improve  their  material  condition,  as  the 
preliminary  to  higher  and  nobler  things.  They 
wanted  to  earn  an  honest  competency  for  them- 
selves and  their  children.  Carver,  and  Brewster, 
soon  found  that  in  London  they  had  to  deal  witl 
men  of  the  world,  accustomed  to  drive  hard  bar- 
gains, into  which  heroic  and  benevolent  motives 
did  not  enter.  The  Virginia  Company,  and  other 
combinations,  existed  only  for  trade^^and  commerce, 
under  charters  of  the  Privy  Council.  They  were 
composed    of   Merchant  Adventurers,  and    as    the 

[20] 


Across    the    Atlantic 


loan  which  the  Pilgrims  required  tor  seven  years, 
and  were  prepared  to  negotiate,  was  subject  to  grave 
risks,  and  depended  upon  the  industry  and  thrift 
of  the  borrowers,  it  was  accompanied  with  hard 
conditions.  Necessity,  however,  knows  no  choice. 
The  bargain  was  completed. 

On  the  return  of  the  emissaries,  the  members 
of  the  church  at  Leyden  were  invited  to  volunteer 
for  the  expedition,  with  the  understanding,  that  if  a 
majority  agreed  to  go  to  America,  their  pastor  would 
accompany  them,  but,  otherwise,  Brewster  was  to 
lead  them  to  the  Promised  Land.  To  Robinson's 
regret,  the  majority  did  not  approve  of  the  expedi- 
tion. Their  hearts  failed  them,  and  it  was  left  to  a 
minority  of  the  community,  to  win  an  exalted  and 
enviable  place  in  history. 

The  chosen  company  quickly  set  about  making 
urgent  plans  for  their  departure.  Some  were  in 
London,  negotiating  for  a  vessel  and  cargo,  and  all 
necessary  equipments  for  the  voyage.  Others  were 
busy  at  Leyden,  securing  another  vessel  to  take 
them  to  England,  and  making  such  domestic  ar- 
rangements as  the  occasion  required.  When  every- 
thing was  ready,  the  church  set  apart  July  21st  1620, 
as  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer,  and  assembled  in 
their  meeting-house.  John  Robinson  preached  to 
them  from  the  text.  Then  I  proclaimed  a  fast  there^ 
at  the  river  Ahava^  that  we  might  humble  ourselves 
before  God^  to  seek  of  him  a  straight  way  for  us^  and 
for  our  little  ones^  and  for  all  our  substance.  Ezra 
Fill.  21. 


[21] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

He  also  delivered  an  address,  and  among  other 
wholesome  instructions  and  exhortations,  Winslow 
tells  us,  "  he  used  these  expressions,  or  to  the  same 
purpose : 

"  We  are  now  ere  long  to  part  asunder  and  the 
Lord  knoweth  whether  ever  he  should  live  to  see 
our  faces  again.  But  whether  the  Lord  had  ap- 
pointed it  or  not,  he  charged  us  before  God  and  his 
blessed  angels,  to  follow  him  no  further  than  he  fol- 
lowed Christ ;  and  if  God  should  reveal  anything  to 
us  by  any  other  instrument  of  his,  to  be  as  ready  to 
receive  it,  as  ever  we  were  to  receive  any  truth  by  his 
ministry;  for  he  was  very  confident  the  Lord  had 
more  truth  and  light  yet  to  break  forth  out  of  his 
holy  word.  He  took  occasion  also  miserably  to  be- 
wail the  state  and  condition  of  the  Reformed 
Churches,  who  were  come  to  a  period  in  religion, 
and  would  go  no  further  than  the  instruments  of 
their  Reformation.  As,  for  example,  the  Luther- 
ans, they  could  not  be  drawn  to  go  beyond  what 
Luther  saw  ;  for  whatever  part  of  God's  will  he  had 
further  imparted  and  revealed  to  Calvin,  they  will 
rather  die  than  embrace  it.  And  so  also,  saith  he, 
you  see  the  Calvinists,  they  stick  where  he  left  them  ; 
a  misery  much  to  be  lamented  :  for  though  they 
were  precious  shining  lights  in  their  times,  yet  God 
had  not  revealed  his  whole  will  to  them ;  and  were 
they  now  living  saith  he,  they  would  be  as  ready 
and  willing  to  embrace  further  light  as  that  they  had 
received.  Here  also  he  put  us  in  mind  of  our 
church  covenant,  at  least  that  part  of  it  whereby  we 


Across    the    Atlantic 


promise  and  covenant  with  God,  and  one  with 
another,  to  receive  whatever  Hght  or  truth  shall  be 
made  known  to  us  from  his  written  word ;  but 
withal,  exhorted  us  to  take  heed  what  we  received 
for  truth,  and  well  to  examine  it,  and  compare  it, 
and  weigh  it,  with  other  Scriptures  of  truth,  before 
we  received  it.  For,  saith  he,  it  is  not  possible  the 
Christian  world  should  come  so  lately  out  of  such 
thick  anti-christian  darkness,  and  that  full  perfection 
of  knowledge  should  break  forth  at  once."  * 

On  the  following  day  the  emigrants  went  on 
board  the  Speedwell^  a  small  vessel  which  was  to 
take  them  to  England ;  and  set  sail  from  Delft- 
haven,  parting  sorrowfully  with  the  fair  city,  which 
had  given  them  such  hospitable  shelter,  and  with 
the  dear  friends  from  whom  they  were  separating  it 
might  be  for  life,  and  started  on  their  way  with  a 
prosperous  wind,  and  a  parting  salute.  "  We  gave 
them  "  writes  Winslow  "a  volley  of  small  shot,  and 
three  pieces  of  ordnance ;  and  so  lifting  up  our 
hands  to  each  other,  to  the  Lord  our  God,  we  de- 
parted and  found  his  presence  with  us." 

The  Speedwell  soon  reached  Southampton,  where 
xki^  May  flow  erixom.  London  awaited  her,  with  some  of 
their  company,  and  a  trans-atlantic  cargo  on  board. 

Negotiations  and  arrangements  with  the  Advent- 
urers dragged  slowly,  and  delayed  the  expedition, 
to  the  sore  perplexity  and  regret  of  the  Pilgrims. 
In  the  midst  of  this  delay  William  Brewster  re- 
ceived   an    official     letter    of   farewell    from     John 

*  Hypocrisie  Unmasked  by  Edward  Winslow. 
[^3l 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

Robinson  to  the  departing  company,  full  of  wise 
counsel  and  encouragement,  as  to  their  civil  and 
religious  duties  and  obligations,  and  commending 
them  to  the  providence  of  God. 

On  the  15th  of  August  1620,  the  Mayflower 
and  Speedwell  started  on  their  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic.  Whether  the  latter  ship  was  unsea- 
worthy,  or  her  master's  courage  was  not  equal  to 
the  task,  will  never  be  known  ;  but  the  craft  leaked, 
put  into  Dartmouth  and  then  into  Plymouth  for 
repairs,  and  was  finally  abandoned  and  sold.  After 
the  loss  of  a  month  of  very  precious  time,  the  May- 
flower, with  Thomas  Jones  as  captain,  sailed  alone 
on  the  1 6th  of  September.  She  carried  102  pas- 
sengers, and  was  bound  for  the  Virginia  Colony. 
At  the  outset,  she  was  further  delayed,  by  stress  of 
weather,  but  eventually  the  winds  were  favorable, 
and  she  started  out  on  her  long  and  perilous  voy- 
age. These  brave  men  and  women 
The  Mayflower  impelled  by  a  grand  ideal,  which 
1620.  had    hitherto    led   them   from  one 

city  of  refuge  to  another,  broke 
away  from  earthly  supports,  and  flung  themselves 
with  absolute  confidence,  on  the  guidance  and  pro- 
tection of  God.  They  knew  not  what  fate  awaited 
them,  or  on  what  shore  they  might  be  cast,  but 
carried  in  their  breasts  the  hope  of  a  better  country, 
in  which  they  might  be  free,  virtuous,  and  con- 
tented. No  ship  ever  bore  a  costlier  freight.  The 
ocean  never  carried  on  its  heaving,  restless  bosom  a 
charge  so  loaded  with  the  higher  destinies  of  man- 

[24] 


Across    the    Atlantic 


kind.  Now  in  sunshine  and  then  in  cloud  ;  one 
day  scudding  before  a  favouring  breeze,  and  the 
next  labouring  in  the  trough  of  the  sea  ;  at  this 
moment,  cowed  with  fear,  at  that,  exultant  with 
hope  ;  the  exiles  trusted  themselves  to  the  change- 
fill  winds  and  the  treacherous  deep,  nourishing  in 
their  daring  hearts,  the  unwritten  charter  of  a  gov- 
ernment, founded  upon  law  and  liberty,  and  des- 
tined, though  they  knew  it  not,  to  afford  shelter 
and  protection  to  millions,  who  like  themselves, 
should  seek  refuge  from  tyranny  and  starvation. 

A  voyage  of  sixty-seven  days,  more  than  twice 
the  average  length  ofa  passage  at  that  time,  brought 
the  Mayjiozucr  to  Cape  Cod.  Two  days  afterwards, 
anchor  was  cast  in  the  quiet 
Cape  Cod  Novem-  waters  of  Provincetown  Har- 
ber  20th  1620.  hour,  and  with  gratitude  to 
Almighty  God  for  safe  deliver- 
ance from  the  perils  of  the  sea,  the  Pilgrims,  not 
forgetting  the  past,  and  not  despairing  of  the  future, 
turned  their  faces  trustfully  and  bravely,  to  the 
difficulties  and  dangers,  which  awaited  them  in  the 
unknown  wilderness  on  shore.  The  night  before 
setting  foot  on  American  soil,  they  met  in  the  ship's 
cabin,  to  settle  the  preliminary  problem  of  statesman- 
ship, by  signing  a  bond  or  agreement,  to  regulate 
their  government,  and  to  hold 
T:ne  Compact  them    together     in    peace    and 

Novr  2 1  St  1620.   good-will.     On  their  own  respon- 
sibility, they  had  come  together 
years  before  as  a  separate  church,  undogmatic  and 

[25] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

self-governing,  with  officers  and  ordinances  of  their 
own  free  choice ;  and,  now,  they  were  to  be  welded 
into  a  civil  commonwealth  equally  free,  authoritative, 
democratic.  The  form  of  the  Compact  was  as 
follows  — 

"  In  y*  name  of  God,  Amen.  We  whose  names 
"  are  under-written,  the  loyall  subjects  of  our  dread 
"  Soveraigne  Lord,  King  James,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
"of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  King,  de- 
"  fender  of  the  faith,  etc.,  having  undertaken  for  the 
"glory  of  God,  and  advancement  of  the  Christian 
"  faith,  and  honour  of  our  King  and  country,  a 
"  voyage  to  plant  the  first  colony  in  the  Northern 
"  parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by  these  presents,  solemnly 
"and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  one  of 
"another,  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together 
"  in  a  civil  body  politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and 
"  preservation,  and  furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid  ; 
"  and  by  virtue  hereof  to  enact,  constitute  and  frame 
"such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts,  con- 
"  stitutions,  and  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall 
"  by  thought  most  meet  and  convenient  for  the 
"  general  good  of  the  colony ;  unto  which  we 
"promise  all  due  submission  and  obedience.  In 
"  witness  where  of  we  have  hereunder  subscribed 
"our  names,  at  Cape  Cod  the  ii*  of  November 
"  ("  old  style  ")  in  the  year  of  the  reign  of  our  sover- 
"eign  lord.  King  James,  of  England,  France  and 
"  Ireland  the  eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland  the  fifty- 
"  fourth.  Anno  Domini  1620 


[z6] 


Across    the    Atlantic 


Mr. 

John  Carver 

8 

Mr 

.  William  Mullins 

5 

<< 

William  Bradford 

2 

<< 

William  White 

5 

(< 

Edward  Winslow 

5 

♦' 

Richard  Warren 

I 

ft 

William  Brewster 

6 

<< 

John   Howland 

<( 

Isaac  Allerton 

6 

(< 

Stephen  Hopkins 

8 

Cap 

t.  Myles  Standish 

2 

<< 

Edward  Tilly 

4 

Mr. 

John  Alden 

I 

<( 

John  Tilly 

3 

<( 

Samuel  Fuller 

2 

(< 

Francis  Cook 

2 

<< 

Christopher  Martin 

4 

(( 

Thomas  Rogers 

2 

(( 

John  Ridgdale 

2 

<  < 

Thomas  Tinker 

3 

(< 

Edward  Fuller 

3 

(( 

Thomas  Williams 

*« 

John  Turner 

3 

(( 

Gilbert  Winslow 

(( 

Francis  Eaton 

3 

(( 

Edmund  Margeson 

(< 

James  Chilton 

3 

<( 

Peter  Brown 

(( 

John  Crackston 

2 

<< 

Richard  Britteridge 

(( 

John  Billington 

4 

<( 

George  Soule 

(( 

Moses  Fletcher 

I 

<< 

Richard  Clarke 

(( 

John  Godman 

I 

<( 

Richard  Gardiner 

(( 

Degory  Priest 

1 

(< 

John  Allerton 

<( 

Thomas  English 

(( 

Edward  Dotey 

(< 

Edward  Leister 

John  Carver,  a  man  godly  and  well-approved 
among  them,  was  chosen  the  Governor  of  the  Col- 
ony for  that  year.  The  embryo  Commonwealth 
had  thus  completed  its  outfit.  William  Brewster, 
though  unordained,  and,  therefore,  not  permitted  to 
administer  the  communion,  was  able  to  conduct  re- 
ligious worship,  teach  doctrines,  and  give  spiritual 
comfort  to  the  sick  and  dying.  Governor  Carver 
stood  guarantee  for  the  sovereignty  of  law  and 
order.  Myles  Standish  was  captain  and  military 
commander.  Necessity  had  driven  them  to  or- 
ganize a  church  to  meet  the  spiritual  exigencies  of 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

their  situation :  and,  now,  necessity  compelled 
them  to  enter  into  a  civil  compact,  to  protect  them 
against  the  incipient  rebellion,  which  in  faint  mut- 
terings  had  been  heard  on  the  voyage,  and  which 
in  all  probability  would  express  itself  in  louder  tones 
ashore.  The  Pilgrims  were  not  philosophers,  or 
theorists,  elaborating  methods  of  civil  and  religious 
government  according  to  any  preconceived  plans ; 
but  men  with  the  statesman's  special  gift  of  meet- 
ing emergencies  as  they  arise  in  the  growth  of  a 
community.  In  doing  this,  they  had  chiefly  their 
own  wants  to  consider,  and  "  so  after  they  had  pro- 
vided a  place  for  their  goods,  a  common  store, 
(which  was  long  in  unlading  for  want  of  boats, 
foulness  of  winter  weather,  and  sickness  of  diverce) 
and  begun  some  small  cottages  for  their  habitation, 
as  time  would  admitte,  they  mette,  and  consulted  of 
lawes  and  orders,  both  for  their  civill  and  military 
government,  as  y^  necessitie  of  their  condition  did 
require,  still  adding  thereunto  as  urgent  occasion  in 
several!  times,  and  as  cases  did  require." 


[28] 


CHAPTER    IV. 

"The  Wild  New  England  Shore." 

AFTER  several  expeditions  on  the  coast,  in 
search  of  a  suitable  landing-place,  and  a  final 
settlement,  accompanied  with  grave  danger, 
both  on  sea  and  land,  the  Pilgrims  sounded  Ply- 
mouth harbor,  and  discovered  it  was  fit  for  ship- 
ping. They  went  inland  for  several  miles,  and 
found  cornfields  and  running 
Dec:  joth  1620,  brooks.  "  Pines,  walnuts,  beech, 
Plymouth.  ash,  birch,  hazel,  holly,  asp,  sas- 

safras in  abundance,  and  vines 
everywhere,  cherry  trees,  plum  trees,"  flourished. 
"  ]\lany  winter  herbs,  as  strawberry  leaves,  sorrel, 
yarrow,  carvel,  brooklime,  liverwort,  water  cresses, 
great  store  of  leeks  and  onions,  and  an  excellent 
strong  kind  of  flax  and  hemp,"  were  abundant. 
Wild-fowl  of  various  kinds  frequented  the  shore; 
skate,  cod,  turbot,  herring,  mussels,  crabs,  and  lob- 
sters, abounded  in  the  waters  along  the  coast.  The 
beautiful  bay,  with  its  islands  and  headlands,  shone 
resplendent  in  its  wintry  sheen.  Surely,  this  was  a 
good  place  to  dwell  in,  and  it  was  natural  enough, 
that  the  weather-beaten  and  weary  wanderers  should 
offer  special  Thanksgiving  to  the  good  God,  who 
had  v/orked  such  deliverance  for  them. 

The  early  years  of  the  settlement  in  Plymouth 
were  largely  taken  up  with  the  bare  struggle  for  ex- 
istence.    The   first  winter  was   particularly   tryino:^ 

[29] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

and  between  January  and  the  end  of  March,  no  less 
than  twenty-one  of  those  who  signed  the  Compact, 
succumbed  to  its  severities.  The  poor  exiles  were 
encompassed  with  dangers.  They  had  to  protect 
themselves,  as  best  they  could,  against  the  intense 
cold,  the  inclemencies  of  a  hard  winter,  the  ravages 
of  disease,  the  wily  attacks  of  treacherous  Indians, 
and  the  machinations  of  the  meaner  sort  among 
themselves.  But,  the  new  Church,  and  the  embryo 
State,  nursed  in  persecution,  borne  through  storm 
and  tempest,  independent  yet  co-operant,  were 
firmly  established.  They  had  survived  every  vicis- 
situde, and  their  foundations  were  secure ;  and  from 
this  point  onward,  our  history  is  concerned  with  the 
rise  and  development  of  organized  religion  in  the 
Colony. 

The  first  public  building  to  be  erected  was  a  large 
house,  twenty-feet  square,  which  was  used  for 
storage   and   public   worship ;   but  shortly  after  its 

completion,  it  took  fire,  and 
The  Common  House  was  burnt  to  the  ground.  In 
yanuary  1620.  the  month   of  April    "  whilst 

they  were  bussie  with  their 
seed,"  Governor  Carver  was  taken  suddenly  ill, 
and  died,  leaving  a  widow  who  soon  followed  him. 
The  death  of  the  first  Governor  was  a  severe  loss 
to  the  community.  He  was  not  only  a  deeply  relig- 
ious man,  but  had  won  their  esteem  and  endeared 
himself  to  them,  by  long  and  patient  service  and 
sacrifice.  He  was  sagacious,  skilled  in  practical 
affairs,  and   upright  in  all    his  dealings.     He   was 

[30] 


"The   Wild    New    England    Shore" 

succeeded  in  office  by  William  Bradford,  with  Isaac 
Allerton,  as  assistant. 

In  the  month  of  November  162 1,  the  depleted 
ranks  of  the  colonists  were  partly  filled  up  by  the 
unexpected  arrival  of  the  Fortune^  and  thirty-five 
persons  were  added  to  the  plantation.  The  summer 
of  1622,  saw  the  erection  of  the  Fort.  Bradford 
writes,  "  they  builte  a  fort  with  good  timber,  both 

strong  and  comly,  which  was  of  good 
The  Fort  defence,  made  with  a  flatte  rofe  and 
1622.        batilments,  on  which  their  ordnance  was 

mounted,  and  where  they  kepte  constante 
watch,  especially  in  time  of  danger.  It  served  them 
also  for  a  meeting-house,  and  was  fitted  accordingly 
for  that  use." 

Here  on  the  summit  of  Burial  Hill,  the  Pilgrims 
perpetuated  the  church  founded  in  England  under 
the  ministration  of  Elder  Brewster.  The  ecclesiasti- 
cal polity  of  the  church  was  copied,  with  slight 
modifications,  from  that  provided  by  Guillaume 
Farel  and  John  Calvin,  for  the  Reformed  Churches 
of  France.  The  church  universal  consisted  of  those, 
of  every  nationality,  who  accepted  the  fundamentals 
of  the  Christian  faith,  preached  from  the  Scriptures, 
and  administered  the  sacraments. 
The  permanent  officers  of  the  church,  were 

1.  The  pastor,  whose  duty  it  was  to  preach,  and 
to  preside  over  the  discipline  of  the  church,  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments,  and  to  admonish  and  exhort 
the  members. 

2.  A  teacher,  or  teachers,  who  explained  and  in- 

[31] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

terpreted  the  Scriptures,  and  inculcated  the  truth 
therein  revealed,  as  it  was  made  known  to  them 
from  time  to  time. 

3.  Certain  devout  and  experienced  men,  known 
as  deacons,  who  were  to  attend  to  the  material  in- 
terests of  the  church,  and  to  relieve  the  poor. 

The  election  of  the  officers  in  the  church  was 
vested  in  the  people,  and  those  duly  chosen  and 
called,  were  ordained  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
of  the  pastors.  The  Sacraments  were  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper.  Baptism  was  administered  only 
to  such  infants,  as  whereof  one  parent,  at  the  least, 
was  of  some  church.  The  Lord's  Supper  was  ad- 
ministered by  a  duly  ordained  clergyman  to  mem- 
bers of  the  church. 

The  Pilgrims  had  long  felt,  what  Richard  Baxter 
afterwards  declared  in  1680,  that  two  things  had 
wrought  incalculable  mischief  to  the  church,  firstly, 
insisting  upon  creed,  and  making  more  fundamentals 
than  God  ever  made ;  and  secondly,  the  imposition 
of  creeds  and  statements  upon  unwilling  and  un- 
believing minds.  In  these  two  respects,  therefore, 
they  departed  from  other  churches,  and  laid  down 
principles  which  gave  them  a  unique  position  in 
their  time  —  they  had  no  creed,  and  repudiated  per- 
secution as  the  handmaid  of  piety. 

For  several  years  the  Church  at  Plymouth  was 
without  a  pastor.  It  lived  upon  the  truths  which 
John  Robinson  had  taught,  with  such  care  and  learn- 
ing, and  broke  the  bread  of  life  in  the  way  which 
exile  had  made  so  precious.     On  the  Lord's  day, 

[32] 


"The    Wild    New    Kngland    Shore" 

the  people  gathered  in  the  meeting-house,  sang  the 
psalms,  had  the  Scriptures  read  and  explained,  and 
joined  in  prayers,  which  flowed  spontaneously  from 
grateful  hearts,  and  were  born  in  the  depth  of  an  ex- 
perience, which  had  made  the  goodness  and  mercy 
of  God,  and  the  blessings  of  his  daily  providence, 
the  most  real  and  vital  of  all  convictions.  They 
knew  that  they  were  the  humble  instruments  of 
God  for  good,  and  that  their  successes  and  failures, 
joys  and  sorrows,  losses  and  gains,  were  included  in 
his  immediate  purpose,  and  were  to  be  accepted 
without  murmur  or  complaint. 

Though  far  away  from  England,  and  apparently 
remote  from  interference,  their  ways  and  doings  were 
reported  to  the  British  authorities,  both  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  who  worked  through  the  Adventurers 
in  London.  The  prelates  of  Episcopacy  kept  in 
touch  with  religious  movements  in  the  colonies,  and 
were  not  slow  to  interfere,  whenever  and  wherever, 
they  felt  called  upon  to  do  so.  Bigotry  has  far- 
reaching  tentacles,  and  upon  the  strength  of  reports, 
which  came  to  them  through  commercial  channels, 
the  authorities  in  England  complained  of  the  laxity 
of  religious  life  at  Plymouth.  It  was  alleged  that 
the  church  was  split  up  into  factions,  to  which  the 
colonists  replied,  that  there  was  never  any  contro- 
versy or  opposition  among  them,  either  public  or  pri- 
vate. It  was  charged  that  family  duties  were  neg- 
lected on  the  Lord's  day,  to  which  the  accused 
responded,  that  they  allowed  no  such  thing,  but 
condemned  it,  both  in   themselves,  and  in  others. 

[33] 


l^he    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

They  were  denounced  for  neglect  of  both  the  Sacra- 
ments, to  which  they  answered,  "  the  more  is  our 
grief,  that  our  pastor  is  kept  from  us,  by  whom  we 
might  enjoy  them,  for  we  used  to  have  the  Lord's 
Supper  every  Sabbath,  and  Baptism  as  often  as  there 
was  occasion  of  children  to  baptize."  Finally,  it  was 
urged  against  them,  that  their  children  were  not  cat- 
echised, or  taught  to  read.  This  complaint  was  also 
false,  "  for  diverse  take  pains  with  their  owne  as  they 
can  ;  indeede  we  have  no  common  schoole  for  want 
of  a  fitt  person,  or  hitherto,  means  to  maintain  one; 
though  we  desire  now  to  begine." 


[34] 


CHAPTER   V. 

Keeping  the  Faith. 

IT  Is  obvious  that  behind  the  complaints  as  to 
the  rehgion  of  the  Colonists,  was  the  hidden 
purpose  to  bring  back  the  Separatists  into  full 
communion  with  Episcopacy.  The  epistles  of 
pious  concern,  issued  by  the  Adventurers,  were  soon 
followed  bv  actions  more  transparent.  One  John 
Lyford,  a  clergyman,  was  sent  over  to  shepherd  the 
destitute  flock.  He  was  expected  to  ingratiate  him- 
self into  the  good  opinion  of  the  church,  to  dis- 
guise his  purpose,  and  by  coaxing,  wheedling,  or 
Jesuitical  posing,  to  overcome  the  prejudices  of  the 
people  against  prelatic  usages  and  customs.  The 
Pilgrims,  though  wanting  a  settled  minister,  had  not 
been  accustomed  to  having  one  chosen  for  them, 
and  looked  upon  the  experiment  with  suspicion. 
Although  John  Lyford  tried  hard  to  hoodwink 
them,  by  simulating  a  respect  and  affection  he  did 
not  feel,  they  would  have  none  of  him.  Mortified 
by  defeat,  he  sought  to  injure  the  church,  in  Eng- 
land, by  secretly  sending  false  reports  of  its  condition, 
so  as  to  provoke  intervention.  His  letters  were 
intercepted  and  his  dissembling  exposed.  He  re- 
mained in  the  Colony  for  some  time,  engaging  in 
various  intrigues  and  causing  much  annoyance  ;  but 
his  character  had  gone,  and  disappointed,  and  dis- 
credited, he  finally  left  for  Virginia,  where  he  sick- 
ened and  died. 

[35] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

In  the  summer  of  1625,  Miles  Standish  went  to 
London  in  the  interests  of  the  Colony.  He  could 
not  have  chosen  a  more  inauspicious  season  for  his 
mission,  for  at  this  time  the  country  was  in  a  state 
of  commotion  over  the  absolutism  of  Charles  the 
First,  and  the  tyranny  of  his  prelates.  Besides,  the 
Plague  was  prevalent  in  the  city.  Business  was 
practically  suspended,  and  people  were  in  no  mood 
to  consider  Colonial  affairs.  He,  therefore,  returned 
without  having  accomplished  his  purpose.  His 
arrival  was  received  with  joy,  although  he  was  the 
bearer  of  sad  news.  King  James  was  dead.  Prince 
Maurice,  the  head  of  the  Dutch  Government,  dur- 
ing the  residence  of  the  Pilgrims  in  Leyden,  had 
also  passed  away.  Robert  Cushman  the  tried  and 
faithful  friend  of  the  Colonists  had  died  at  the  early 
age  of  forty-five.  And  last,  though  not  least,  their 
beloved  pastor  John  Robinson  had  gone  to  that 
rest  which  remained  for  the  people  of  God.  He 
was  taken  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  at  the  age  of 
forty-nine,  afflicted  with  ague,  and  worn  no  doubt 
with  anxieties  and  cares,  incidental  to  his  position, 
and  induced  in  large  measure  by  the  Puritan  faction, 
which  gave  him  continual  annovance.  He  died  on  the 
I''  of  March  1625,  and  on  the  4*,  was  buried  in  the 
vaults  of  St.  Peter's  Church.  He  lived  the  life  of  a 
saint,  was  deeply  respected  bv  his  own  people,  and 
friends  of  learning  in  Leyden,  and  died  a  martyr  to 
the  cause  he  loved. 

The  Plymouth  Church  continued  to  retain  its 
convictions,  and  its  sturdy  independence,  during  the 

[36] 


Keeping    the    Faith 


years  it  was  without  a  pastor,  desiring  none  of  the 
imported  clergymen  sent  bv  the  Adventurers,  whether 
of  Episcopal  or  Puritan  leanings,  and  heeding  not 
the  veiled  rebukes  and  supercilious  airs  of  the  Salem 
fraternity.  It  was  Separatist,  and  was  neither  to  be 
bribed  nor  driven  from  its  steadfast  allegiance  to  the 
true  ideal  of  liberty  and  independence. 

In  1629,  there  arrived  in  the  "Talbot"  one 
Ralph  Smith,  a  clergyman  whose  ecclesiastical  status 
when  he  boarded  the  ship,  was  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture. He  was  thought  to  be  a  Separatist,  and 
Matthew    Cradock,  Governor   in   England    of  the 

Massachusetts  Colonv,  sent  a  mes- 
Ralph  Stnith  sage  to  Endicott  of  Salem,  concerning 
1620,  him,  "  that  unless  he  be  conformable 

to  our  Government,  you  suffer  him 
not  to  remain  within  the  limits  of  our  grant."  Crad- 
ock's  suspicions  were  well-founded,  and  Smith, 
upon  inquiry,  was  compelled  to  accept  the  alterna- 
tive of  being  shipped  back  to  England,  in  the 
"  Lion's  Whelp,"  or  of  seeking  quarters  where  his 
views  would  meet  with  more  favour  than  Salem  ac- 
corded to  them.  He  fled  to  Nantasket,  and  after 
struggling  for  some  time  in  poverty,  he  persuaded 
the  captain  of  a  Plymouth  vessel,  to  take  him  and 
his  family  on  board,  and  convey  them  to  the  freer 
Colony.  He  was  received  by  the  Pilgrims  some- 
what cautiously,  but  after  close  investigation  was 
welcomed,  and  finally  ordained  the  first  minister  of 
the  church  in  Plymouth.  Although  a  man  of  ordi- 
nary abilities,  and  it  was  said,  not  equal  to   Brewster 

[37] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

as  a  preacher,  he  served  the  church  acceptably  for 
five  or  six  years.  During  three  years  of  his  minis- 
try he  was  assisted  by  Roger  Williams  who  arrived 
in  America  on  the  5*  of  February  1631,  and  had 
been  commended  to  the  Colony  by  Governor  Win- 
throp.  On  his  arrival,  he  was  invited  to  temporarily 
fill  the  pulpit  of  the  Reverend  John  Wilson  of  Bos- 
ton, who  was  about  to  make  a  visit  to  England. 
Roger  Williams  graduated  from  Pembroke  College, 
Cambridge,  in  1626,  and  took  orders  in  the  church 
in  1629,  serving  as  chaplain  to  Sir  William  Masham. 
The  Anglican  Liturgy  proved  distasteful  to  him,  and 
the  persistent  attentions  of  Archbishop  Laud  drove 
him  out  of  the  land.  He  sailed  from  Bristol  in 
England  on  the  V^  of  December  1630.  The  hope 
of  finding  liberty  of  conscience,  and  a  field  for  his 
unquestioned  ability  and  character  in  Boston,  turned 
out  to  be  delusive.  In  April  1 631,  he  accepted  an 
appointment  as  preacher  or  teacher,  at  Salem.  This 
change  brought  him  no  advantage.  In  matters 
ecclesiastical,  Boston  and  Salem  were  too  closely 
identified,  and  after  a  few  months,  he  removed  to 
Plymouth,  where  he  remained  for  nearly  three  years. 
He  appears  to  have  been  an  eccentric  genius,  able, 
scholarly,  but  of  unsound  judgment.  Here,  as  else- 
where his  pronounced  views,  and  personal  idiosyn- 
crasies led  him  into  trouble  with  the  Puritan  section, 
and  not  being  able  to  smother  his  convictions  at  the 
behest  of  his  worldly  interests,  the  Plymouth  church 
reluctantly  parted  with  him.  His  principal  conten- 
tions were,  that  the  King  had  no  right  to  grant  the 

[38] 


Keeping    the    Faith 


Colony's  charter,  that  even  casual  attendance  at  the 
services  of  the  Church  of  England  was  a  sin,  and 
that  any  interference  whatever  with  the  right  of 
private  judgment  was  an  injustice  to  the  individual 
and  the  community.  These,  and  some  minor  ex- 
travagances of  his,  were  intolerable  to  the  Puritan 
faction,  and  finally  ended  in  his  banishment  from 
the   Bay  Colony. 

The  local  scattering  of  the  Colonists  led  to  the 
foundinor  of  new  churches  in  and  around  Plymouth. 
"  Those  that  lived  on  their  lots  on  y*"  other  side 
of  y""  bay  (called  Duxberie)  they  could  not  long 
bring  their  wives  and  children  to  y'^  publick  wor- 
ship and  church  meetings  here, 
T^he  Duxbury  and  with  such  burthen  as  growing 
Church  l6j2.  to  some  competente  number,  they 
sued  to  be  dismissed,  and  so  they 
were  dismiste,  about  this  time,  though  very  un- 
willingly." 

Shortly  afterwards,  and  for  similar  reasons,  an- 
other body,  living  at  Green's  harbour,  Marshfield 
split  off  from  the  parent  church,  and  set  up  on 
its  own  account.  These  defec- 
The  Marshfield  tions  greatly  weakened  the  re- 
Church  l6j2.  sources  of  the  Plymouth  church, 
and  were  viewed  with  alarm,  and, 
yet,  nothing  could  be  said  against  them. 

In  1633,  Bradford  resigned  the  Governorship 
after  twelve  years'  service,  and  Edward  Winslow 
succeeded  him.  Seven  assistants  were  chosen,  and 
that  was  the  number  of  the  Governor's  Council 
ever  afterwards. 

[39] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

The  Bay  Colony  had  never  taken  very  kindly  to 
the  Plymouth  Separatists,  and  veiled  suspicion  and 
dislike  soon  ripened  into  meddlesome  interference. 
The  Puritan  and  the  Pilgrim  had  many  things  in 
common,  but  one  or  two  vital  principles,  on  which 
they  differed,  kept  them  apart.  The  Puritan  was 
conservative,  accommodating,  obsequious  to  the 
powers  that  be,  and  inclined  to  furbish  up  the  old 
weapons,  which  had  been  used  against  hims^,  for 
use  against  others.  The  Pilgrim  was  radical.  He 
had  broken  with  the  past,  even  to  a  greater  extent 
than  he  could  realize,  and  was  making  a  new  ex- 
periment, civil  and  ecclesiastical.  He  was  more 
tolerant  than  the  Puritan,  both  in  matters  of  opin- 
ion and  conduct,  and  wore  a  more  gracious  mien. 
About  this  time,  the  feeling  between  them  was 
neither  pleasant  nor  safe.  Strictures  on  the  re- 
ligious attitude  of  the  Pilgrims  were  passing  into 
efforts  to  divert  their  trade,  and  to  trespass  on 
their  territory,  which  met  with  resistance,  ending 
in  bloodshed. 

In  1634,  Governor  Winslow  went  to  England  on 
colonial  business,  and  before  sailing,  accepted  a  com- 
mission for  the  Bay  Colony,  which  required  him  to 
appear  before  the  King's  Commissioners  for  Planta- 
tions. Here  he  was  brought  face  to  face  with  Arch- 
bishop Laud,  who  could  not  resist  the  opportunity 
of  venting  his  wrath  upon  the  representative  of  the 
Plymouth  settlement,  about  whose  sayings  and  do- 
ings he  had  been  duly  informed  by  the  Puritans. 
Winslow  was   accused    of  taking    part    in    Sunday 

[40] 


Keeping    the    Faith 


services,  and  of  conducting  civil  marriages.  The 
Governor  admitted  the  charges,  and  pleaded  exten- 
uating circumstances  ;  but  Laud  was  not  to  be  ap- 
peased, and  committed  the  bold  Separatist  to  the 
Fleet  Prison,  where  he  remained  for  seventeen 
weeks,  when  he  was  released,  and  permitted  to  re- 
turn to  America,  wounded  in  his  conscience  by  the 
cruel  wrong  done  to  him,  and  impoverished  by  legal 
expenses. 

In  the  year  1636,  Ralph  Smith  resigned  his  pas- 
torate, and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Reyner, 
a  quiet,  godly  man,  who  seems  to  have  pursued  the 

even  tenour  of  his  way,  doing  his 
'John  Reyner  duty  modestly  and  efficiently,  and 
l6j6.  commending  himself  to  the  good-will 

and  affection  of  his  flock,  whom  he 
served  faithfully  for  eighteen  years.  About  two 
years  after  his  ordination,  the  Rev.  Charles  Chaun- 
cey  a  graduate,  and  tor  some  time  a  professor,  of 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  drifted  towards  Plym- 
outh, and  preached  so  acceptably,  that  he  was  in- 
vited to  become  co-pastor  with  Mr.  Revner.  He 
had  been  vicar  of  Ware,  Hertfordshire,  and  came 
into  disfavour,  by  characterizing  Laud's  sacerdotal 
regulations  as  "  idolatrous."  He  was  brought  be- 
fore the  Court  of  High  Commission  in  1630,  and 
again  in  1634,  when  he  was  suspended  from  the 
ministry,  and  imprisoned.  On  the  6'''  of  February 
1636,  he  petitioned  the  Court  to  be  allowed  to  sub- 
mit, and  after  listening  to  one  of  Archbishop  Laud's 
admonitions  to  penitent  heretics,  he  was  released  on 

[41] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

payment  of  costs.  He  never  forgave  himself,  for 
what  he  called  his  "  scandalous  submission,"  and  be- 
fore leaving  for  America  in  1637,  he  wrote  a  "Re- 
tractation," which  was  published  in  London  in  1641. 
After  acting  as  Reyner's  assistant  for  three  years,  he 
developed  anabaptist  ideas,  contending  for  immer- 
sion as  against  sprinkling.  Scripture  was  on  his 
side,  but  the  American  climate  and  personal  health 
and  comfort,  were  against  him.  The  church  evi- 
dently did  not  consider  the  question  a  vital  one,  and 
was  willing  that  he  should  dip  or  sprinkle,  as  occa- 
sion might  require.  But,  it  was  obviously  a  matter 
of  principle  with  him,  and  to  the  deep  regret  of  the 
Parish,  he  left  Plymouth  to  take  charge  of  the  church 
at  Scituate.  He  held  his  pulpit  there,  for  some  time, 
and  when  contemplating  a  return  to  his  former 
charge  at  Ware,  in  England,  the  Trustees  of  Har- 
vard College,  offered  him  the  Presidency  of  that 
seat  of  learning.  He  accepted  the  offer,  and  be- 
came the  second  President  of  the  College. 

The  colonies  of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  and 
Connecticut,  had  been  looking  for  some  time  towards 
federation.  It  was  felt  that  their  mutual  interests 
and  protection  would  be  furthered  by  union,  and  in 
1643,  ^^^y  entered  into  a  Confederation  known  as 
"  The  United  Colonies  of  New  England."  This 
union  no  doubt  gave  strength  to  the  Colonies  in 
their  relations  with  the  mother-country,  and  pro- 
vided for  the  better  administration  of  law,  and  more 
adequate  defence  in  case  of  war.  But,  it  gave  to 
the  Massachusetts  Colony  a  preponderating  power, 


Keeping    the    Faith 


and  reacted  unravourably  upon  the  liberalism  of  Ply- 
mouth. In  every  union  of  independent  organiza- 
tions something  must  be  sacrificed.  Corporations, 
like  individuals  acquire  characteristics,  which  differ- 
entiate them  from  other  bodies  ;  but,  when  they 
sink  themselves  in  federation,  these  original  quali- 
ties are  either  modified  or  entirelv  lost.  Plymouth 
Colony  was  unique.  It  represented  heroic  history 
and  traditions  in  which  no  other  colony  could  share. 
Its  ideals  of  liberty,  self-reliance,  and  manliness, 
were  its  own.  From  the  first,  it  had  carved  out  an 
independent  course  for  itself,  and  had  pursued  that 
course,  with  unflinching  loyalty  and  determination. 
Now,  the  age  of  chivalry  and  romance  was  coming 
to  an  end.  The  old  Colony  had  fought  a  good 
fight  and  finished  its  course.  It  had  stood  out 
bravely  for  the  widest  conception  then  known,  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  preserving  the  independ- 
ence and  integrity  of  the  State,  bridling  religious 
intolerance,  and  offering  an  asylum  for  brave  and 
honest  men,  who  had  been  cast  out  by  Prelacy  and 
Puritanism.  Henceforth,  it  was  to  form  a  minor 
part  in  a  union  with  forces  against  which  it  had  long 
contended.  The  heroes  who  had  stood  faithfully 
by  it,  were  one  by  one  failing  under  the  weight  of 
years,  and  stood  ready  to  sing  their  nunc  ditnittis. 
Its  name  was  to  be  relinquished;  its  career  com- 
pleted ;  and  its  wonderful  history  merged  into  the 
annals  of  secondary  events. 


[43] 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Gain   and   Loss. 

IN  order  to  rightly  understand  the  trend  of  later 
incidents  in  the  history  of  the  church,  it  may  be 
well  to  observe,  at  this  point,  that  the  com- 
munity was  divided  into  two  sections  —  the  church, 
and  the  precinct  or  Parish.  The  former  consisted 
of  those,  who  on  entering  into  religious  fellowship, 
made  confession  of  their  faith,  and  supported  the 
confession  by  a  distinct  experience  of  a  moral  and 
spiritual  new-birth,  or  conversion,  proof  of  which 
had  to  be  publicly  declared,  first  in  the  presence  of 
the  pastor  and  elders,  and  then  before  the  congrega- 
tion and  communicants.  The  latter  were  members, 
who  attended  public  worship  and  paid  their  taxes, 
but  were  not  so  closely  and  formally  affiliated. 
These  two  bodies,  distinct  yet  related,  ruled  the 
church,  and  appear  to  h-ave  stood  in  the  same  posi- 
tion to  each  other,  on  all  ecclesiastical  questions,  as 
do  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  to-day, 
on  political  issues.  The  church  represented  a  kind 
of  spiritual  aristocracy,  or  inner  circle  of  advanced 
piety.  The  Parish  consisted  of  a  large  body  of  de- 
vout men  and  women,  who  were  by  no  means  rigid 
as  to  doctrines  or  forms,  but  were  attached  to  the 
institution.  Neither  could  act  independently  on 
important  matters,  without  the  concurrence  of  the 
other.  In  the  election  or  dismissal  of  a  minister, 
for  example,  the  initiative  was  taken  by  the  church ; 

[+4] 


Gain    and    Loss 


but  the  action  of  the  church  had  to  be  sustained  by 
the  vote  of  the  Parish.  Not  unnaturally,  the  one 
came  to  stand  for  everything  that  was  conservative 
in  the  life  of  the  Society,  and  the  other  for  every- 
thing that  was  progressive ;  this,  enforcing  rules  and 
disciplines,  that,  chafing  under  what  is  regarded  as 
undue  restraints.  Friction  was  inevitable.  The 
tendency  of  the  church  was  to  become  rigid  and 
narrow,  and  as  its  records  show,  to  bear  hard  on 
neglect  of  worship  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  frowning  upon  the  most  innocent  forms  of 
self-indulgence  and  pleasure,  as  upon  the  wiles  of 
Satan.  The  tendency  of  the  Parish,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  to  slacken  ecclesiastical  discipline,  to 
assert  personal  liberty,  and  while  sound  enough  as 
to  essentials,  and  the  need  of  pure  and  upright  liv- 
ing, was  liberal  in  its  construction  of  non-essentials. 
Elder  Brewster  held  the  two  in  gracious  equilib- 
rium ;  but  after  his  death,  there  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  anyone  with  equal  authority  and  tact,  t-o 
suppress  inevitable  jealousies  and  dissensions.  I'he 
old  regime  had  its  defects,  but  it  was  not  without 
its  compensating  advantages.  It  was,  spiritually, 
dogmatic  and  imperious,  but  it  set  the  stamp 
of  sacredness  upon  the  church  and  its  life,  and  em- 
phasized the  distinction  between  the  standards  of 
living  within  its  jurisdiction,  and  those  commonly 
accepted  in  the  outside  world,  and  in  secular  con- 
cerns. It  was  determined  to  lead  the  world,  and 
not  to  be  led  by  it,  to  dictate  the  type  of  character 
in  the  church,  and  not  permit  what  was  intended  to 

[45] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

be  a  Christian  Commonwealth  to  shrink  into  the 
smaller  proportions  of  a  mere  secular  corporation, 
moulded  by  public  opinion,  whether  religious  or 
not,  and  subject  like  any  other  secular  concern  to 
the  laws  of  the  State,  a  condition  into  which  so 
many  congregational  churches  have  fallen,  and  are 
still  falling. 

About  the  year  1643,  ^^^  migratory  movements 
of  families  in  and  around  Plymouth  led  to  another 
loss  in  the  church.  The  tendency  to  go  farther 
afield  in  search  of  a  better  livelihood,  threatened 
the  extinction  of  the  Pilgrim  society,  and  when 
a  number  of  members  living  in  or  near  Nauset 
(Eastham)  sought  separation,  it  was  feared  that  the 
parent  body  would  not  hold  together.  A  pro- 
posal was  made,  but  not  carried,  that  the  church 
should  be  transplanted  to  Nauset.  It  was  finally  de- 
cided to  establish  a  new  society  in  that  region.  Re- 
luctantly and  painfully,  the 
The  Eastham  Church  old  parish  parted  with  her 
l6dj—d.  children,   fearing  dissolution 

by  disintegration,  but  taking 
to  herself  the  consolation  that  in  her  poverty  many 
were  being  made  rich.  Her  venerable  leaders,  who 
had  piloted  her  through  many  a  storm,  were  either 
old  and  decrepit,  or  had  one  by  one  laid  the  bur- 
den down,  and  gone  to  their  reward ;  and  their 
children  driven  by  hard  necessity  to  seek  a  living 
elsewhere,  were  leaving  the  mother-church,  weak 
and  deserted, —  the  Niobe  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  in  New  England  —  a  pathetic  and  oft  re- 
peated story  in  ecclesiastical  history. 

[46] 


Gain    and    Loss 


On    the    1 6'''  of  April    1644  William    Brewster 
died.     He  more  than  any  man 
William  Brewster  was    entitled    to    be  called    the 
died  1644.  Founder  of  the  Pilgrim  Church. 

It  originated  in  his  house  at 
Scrooby,  he  sacrificed  everything  for  it :  and  for 
years  after  the  settlement  in  Plymouth,  he  was 
practically  both  minister  and  elder,  officiating  twice 
each  Lord's  Day.  He  had  left  home  and  family, 
suffered  imprisonment  and  persecution,  wandered 
in  fear  and  much  trembling,  turned  the  hands  once 
used  to  delicate  service  to  hard  manual  labor, 
thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  poor  and  despised  of 
this  world,  shared  their  perils  by  sea,  and  their  toils 
and  sufferings  on  land,  never  faltering  in  his  pur- 
pose, and  never  wavering  in  his  love  and  loyalty  to 
the  little  flock,  of  which  he  was  the  patient  and 
tender  shepherd.  How  poor  and  mean  are  the 
sacrifices  any  of  us  are  called  upon  to  make  for  the 
cause  of  right  and  liberty,  in  our  day,  compared 
with  the  thirty-six  years  of  heroic  service,  which 
this  man  gave,  for  the  things  we  so  often  treat  with 
cold  indifference  !  Firm  as  a  rock,  he  clung  to  his 
noble  purpose,  and  when  his  followers  were  in  great- 
est peril  and  perplexity,  worn  and  almost  hopeless, 
through  care  and  suffering,  he  kept  a  stout  heart, 
and  bade  them  be  of  good  cheer.  Although  of 
frugal  habits  himself,  not  drinking  anything  but 
water,  until  within  a  short  time  of  his  death,  and 
then  medicinally,  he  was  charitable  to  others,  and 
unsparing  in  his  service  of  the  sick  and  destitute. 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

Bradford  writes  of  him  "  For  his  personal  abilities, 
he  was  qualified  above  many :  he  was  wise  and  dis- 
crete, and  well-spoken,  having  a  grave  and  deliber- 
ate utterance,  of  a  very  cheerful  spirite,  very  sociable 
and  pleasante  among  his  friends,  of  an  humble  and 
modest  mind,  of  a  peaceable  disposition,  under- 
vallewing  himself  and  his  own  abilities,  and 
sometime  over-vallewing  others,  inoffensive  and 
innocent  in  his  life  and  conversation,  which  gained 
him  y^  love  of  those  without,  as  well  as  those 
within ;  yet  he  would  tell  them  plainely  of  their 
faults  and  evills,  both  publickly  and  privately,  but 
in  such  manner  as  usually  was  well-taken  from 
him.  He  was  tender-hearted  and  compassionate, 
of  such  as  were  in  miserie,  but  espetially  of  such 
as  had  been  of  good  estate  and  ranke,  and  were 
fallen  into  want  and  poverty,  either  for  goodness 
and  religion's  sake,  or  for  y^  injury  and  oppres- 
sion of  others ;  he  would  say  of  all  men  these  de- 
served to  be  pitied  most.  And  none  did  more 
offend  and  displease  him,  than  such  as  would 
hautily  and  proudly  carry  and  lift  up  themselves, 
being  rise  from  nothing,  and  having  little  els  in 
them,  to  commend  them,  but  a  few  fine  cloaths,  or 
a  little  riches  more  than  others." 

Until  his  death,  his  hand  was  never  lifted  from 
Pilgrim  history.  He  shaped  the  counsels  of  his 
colleagues,  helped  to  mould  their  policy,  safeguarded 
their  liberties,  and  kept  in  check  tendencies  towards 
religious  bigotry  and  oppression.  He  tolerated 
differences,  but    put   down   wrangling   and    dissen- 

[48] 


Gain    and    Loss 


sion,  promoting  in  every  way  within  his  power,  the 
strength  and  cleanness  of  private  and  public  life. 

In  1648  the  first  church  was  built.  It  was  situ- 
ated behind  Bradford's  lot,  and  facing  Leyden  St., 
and  like  every  first  church, 
The  First  Meeting  however  modest,  was  raised 
House  164.8.  with  becoming  pride  and  joy. 

Seven  years  before,  an  ordi- 
nance had  passed  the  General  Court  "  that  no  in- 
junction should  be  put  on  any  church,  or  church 
member,  as  to  doctrine,  worship,  or  discipline, 
whether  for  substance  or  circumstance,  besides 
the  command  of  the  Bible."  This  might  mean 
much  or  little,  for  justification  of  oppression  was 
easily  found  in  the  Scriptures,  but  on  the  lips  of 
those  who  had  suffered  greatly,  and  so  often,  for 
conscience  sake,  it  meant  a  good  deal.  It  meant 
that  although  men  met  for  worship  under  one  roof, 
it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  they  should  think  or 
feel  alike ;  but  whether  or  not,  they  were  to  enjoy 
such  freedom,  as  was  not  to  be  found  in  any  other 
church  of  their  time. 

The  next  decade  brought  great  changes  in  the 
personnel  of  the  Pilgrims.  In  October  1646, 
Winslow,  against  the  advice  of  his  compatriots, 
accepted  a  second  mission  to  England.  His  last 
trip  on  a  similar  errand  had  proved  disastrous  to 
him  :  but,  now,  England  was  on  the  eve  of  a  revo- 
lution, and  the  men  who  tormented  him  ten  years 
before,  were  no  longer  in  power.  Laud  had  been 
sent    to    the    scaffold     on    the    charge    of    having 

[49] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

attempted  to  disturb  the  foundations  of  Church 
and  State,  and  Cromwell  was  commencing  the 
famous  struggle,  which  was  to  end  in  the  death  of 
Charles  the  First,  and  the  establishment  of  a  Pro- 
tectorate. Marston  Moor  and  Naseby  had  already 
been  fought  and  won,  and  the  victor  was  quelling 
the  revolt  of  the  army.  In  the  midst  of  this  strife 
Winslow  reached  England.  He  found  his  old  ene- 
mies either  dead  or  powerless,  and  their  places  were 
filled  by  men  favourable  to  the  Colonies.  His  com- 
mission was  soon  executed ;  but  the  dramatic  scenes 
and  incidents  around  him  proved  too  fascinating. 
While  anxious  to  return  to  his  family,  he  neverthe- 
less prolonged  his  stay,  and  eventually  was  induced 
to  take  service  under  Cromwell.  He  was  engaged 
in  diplomatic  action  on  several  important  commis- 
sions, and  was  finally  sent  with  others,  in  charge  of 
a  fleet  for  the  capture  of  the  Spanish  West  Indies. 
The  expedition  failed,  but  redeemed  its  fame  some- 
what, by  the  successful  conquest  of  Jamaica. 
Winslow  caught  a  fever  in  this  expedition,  from 
which  he  never  recovered.  He  died  and  was 
buried  at  sea  on  May  8*  1655.  He  was  Gover- 
nor in  1633,  1636,  and  1644, 
Edward  Winslow  and  always  proved  himself  a 
died  16^^.  nian   of  exceptional  ability  and 

character,  giving  the  best  years 
of  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  Colony.  He 
came  with  the  Pilgrims  in  1620,  was  one  of  the 
party  sent  to  prospect  along  the  coast,  subscribed 
his  name   to  the  compact,  and  in   1623   while  on  a 

[50] 


Gain    and    Loss 


mission  to  England  published  an  account  of  the 
settlement  and  struggles  of  the  Plymouth  Colony 
under  the  title  of  "  Good  News  for  New  England, 
or  a  relation  of  things  remarkable  in  that  Planta- 
tion." He  further  published  a  tract  in  1646  en- 
titled "Hypocrisie  Unmasked;  by  a  true  relation 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Governor  of  Massachu- 
setts against  Samuel  Groton,  a  notorious  Disturber 
of  the  Peace,"  which  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  an 
appendix  giving  an  account  of  preparations  in  Ley- 
den  for  removal  to  America,  and  the  substance  of 
John  Robinson's  address  to  the  Pilgrims  on  their 
departure  from   Holland. 

In   the  year   1656,   the  Colonv  lost  its   militarv 
commander,    Myles    Standish,    who    was    born    in 

Lancashire,  about  1584,  proba- 
Myles  Standish  bly  from  the  Duxbury  branch  of 
died  16^6.  the    Standish   family.     He    was    a 

unique  and  romantic  figure  in  the 
history  of  the  Colony.  His  military  career  com- 
menced before  1603,  when  he  obtained  a  lieuten- 
ant's commission  in  the  British  army,  and  fought  in 
the  wars  against  the  Netherlands  and  Spain.  He 
joined  the  Pilgrims  at  Leyden,  when  the  project  o^ 
emigration  to  America  was  pending,  not  so  much 
from  religious  sympathy,  however,  as  from  a 
taste  for  military  adventure.  He  embarked  with 
the  Pilgrims  on  the  Mayflower^  and  on  their  arrival 
at  Cape  Cod,  took  command  of  the  exploring  par- 
ties. Afterwards,  in  February  1621,  he  was  elected 
military  captain  of  the  Colony.     With  a  very  small 


[51] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

force,  he  protected  the  settlers  against  Indian  incur- 
sions, until  all  danger  from  that  quarter  was  at  an 
end.  When  the  settlers  were  made  peaceably  secure 
in  their  rights  and  possessions,  and  further  exploits, 
adventures,  and  hair-breadth  escapes  were  no  longer 
possible,  Standish  retired  to  his  estate  at  Duxbury, 
on  the  north  side  of  Plymouth  Bay,  frequently 
acting  as  Governor's  assistant,  and  from  1644  ^o 
1649  serving  as  Treasurer  to  the  Colony.  He  was 
twice  married,  and  had  four  sons  and  a  daughter. 
In  religious  matters  he  v/as  non-committal.  He 
never  belonged  to  the  Pilgrim  church,  and  though 
descended  from  a  Catholic  family,  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  he  was  a  Catholic  himself.  .He  did 
noble  service  for  the  Colony,  and  practically  settled 
the  question,  whether  the  Anglo-Saxon  or  the  native 
Indian,  was  to  predominate  in  New  England.  He 
died  on  the  3''^  of  October  1656,  and  was  borne 
to  his  grave  amid  the  grateful  sorrow  of  his  com- 
rades. Art  and  poetry  have  invested  his  memory 
with  undying  honour.  A  monument  stands  on 
what  was  his  estate  at  Duxbury,  and  Longfellow  and 
Lowell  have  wreathed  his  fame  in  romantic  verse. 

Next  summer.  May  9'^  1657,    Bradford  sank  to 
his  rest,  more  from  sheer  debility  than   from  any 

chronic  disease.  His  work  was 
William  Bradford  done.  Born  in  1590,  and  early 
died  16^7.  committing  himself  religiously 

to  reform,  he  bore  the  burden 
and  heat  of  the  day,  from  the  inception  of  the 
Pilgrim  movement  to  its  absorption  in  the  Union 


Gain    and    Loss 


of  the  New  England  Colonies.  He  sprang  from 
sturdy  Yorkshire  stock,  living  in  Austerfield,  and 
though  not  possessed  of  a  University  training,  Hke 
some  of  his  friends,  he  acquired  more  culture  than 
most  men  of  his  station,  and  was  well  read,  in 
history,  philosophy,  and  religion.  His  mind  took 
ari  earlv  bias  in  the  direction  of  theological  and 
biblical  studies,  and  when  quite  young,  he  began  to 
attend  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Clyfton, 
vicar  of  Babworth.  In  spite  of  the  jeers  and  taunts 
ot  his  tamilv  and  friends,  he  joined  the  Separatist 
movement  at  Scrooby,  and  never  regretted  the  step 
he  took.  His  fresh  enthusiasm  induced  him  to 
throw  in  his  lot  with  the  Pilgrims.  He  accompanied 
them  in  all  their  wanderings,  bravely  sharing  their 
trials,  sufferings,  and  privations.  On  the  death  of 
Carver,  he  became  the  second  Governor  of  Plymouth 
Colony.  A  patent  was  granted  to  him  in  1629,  by 
the  Council  of  New  England,  vesting  the  Colony  in 
trust  to  him,  his  heirs,  associates,  and  assigns,  con- 
firming their  title  to  a  tract  of  land,  and  conferring 
the  power  to  frame  a  constitution  and  laws  ;  but 
eleven  years  later,  he  transferred  this  patent  to  the 
General  Court,  only  reserving  to  himself,  the  allot- 
ment conceded  to  him,  in  the  original  division  of 
land.  His  reputation  as  chief  magistrate  was  marked 
by  honesty  and  fair  dealing,  alike  in  his  relations 
with  the  Indians  tribes,  and  his  treatment  of  recalci- 
trant colonists.  His  word  was  respected,  and 
caused  him  to  be  trusted.  His  will  was  resolute  in 
every  emergency,  and  yet  everybody  knew  that  his 

[53] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


clemency,  and  even  charitable  consideration,  might 
be  counted  upon,  whenever  it  could  be  safely  exer- 
cised. The  church  was  always  dear  to  him.  He 
enjoyed  its  faith  and  respected  its  institutions,  and 
up  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  confessed  his  delight  in 
its  teachings  and  its  simple  services.  Governor 
Bradford  was  twice  married,  at  Leyden  in  1613  to 
Dorothy  May,  who  was  accidentally  drowned  in  Cape 
Cod  harbour,  on  the  17'^  of  December  1620;  and 
again,  on  the  14*  of  August  1623,  to  Alice  Car- 
penter, widow  of  Edward  Southworth.  By  his  first 
wife,  he  had  one  son,  and  by  his  second,  two  sons 
and  a  daughter.  He  was  the  author  of  many 
pamphlets,  some  in  prose,  others  in  verse.  The 
only  work  published  in  his  lifetime  was  "  A  Diary 
of  Occurences  during  the  first  year  of  the  Colony," 
written  jointly  with  Edward  Winslow,  and  published 
in  England  in  1622.  He  left  many  manuscripts, 
letters  and  chronicles,  verses,  and  dialogues,  which 
are  the  principal  authorities  for  the  early  history  of 
the  Colony.  The  book,  by  which  he  will  be  best 
remembered  is  the  manuscript  "  History  of  Ply- 
mouth Plantation,"  which  at  one  time  was  deposited 
in  the  "  New  England  Library,"  but  was  afterwards 
lost,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been  carried  away 
by  some  one  during  the  war  with  England.  It  was 
not  until  1855,  that  certain  passages  in  "  Wilber- 
force's  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  America,"  printed  in  1846,  professing  to  quote 
from  "  a  Manuscript  History  of  Plymouth  in  the 
Fulham  library,"  revealed  the  whereabouts  of  the 

[54] 


Gain    and    Loss 


precious  document.  These  quotations  were  identi- 
fied as  being  similar  to  extracts  from  Bradford's 
History  made  by  earlier  annalists.  The  story  of 
the  recovery  of  that  manuscript  cannot  be  better  told 
than  in  the  words  of  the  Hon.  George  F.  Hoar,  the 
venerable  Senator  of  Massachusetts,  who  during  a 
visit  to  England,  was  instrumental  in  having  the 
book  returned.  After  procuring  an  introduction  to 
the  Lord  Bishop  of  London,  he  was  invited  to  Ful- 
ham  Palace,  which  for  a  thousand  years  has  been  an 
Episcopal  residence.  The  bishop  received  him  with 
great  courtesy,  holding  in  his  hand  the  invaluable 
manuscript.  Whereupon  the  following  conversation 
occurred. 

"  My  lord,  I  am  going  to  say  something,  which 
you  may  think  rather  audacious.  I  think  this  book 
ought  to  go  back  to  Massachusetts.  Nobody  knows 
how  it  got  over  here.  Some  people  think  it  was 
carried  off  by  Governor  Hutchinson,  the  Tory 
Governor ;  other  people  think  it  was  carried  off  by 
British  soldiers,  when  Boston  was  evacuated,  but  in 
either  case,  the  property  would  not  have  changed. 
Or,  if  you  treat  it  as  booty,  in  which  last  case,  I 
suppose  by  the  law  of  nations,  ordinary  property 
does  change,  no  civilized  nation  in  modern  times, 
applies  that  principle  to  the  property  of  libraries, 
and  institutions  of  learning." 

"  Well,"  said  the  bishop,  "  I  did  not  know  that 
you  cared  anything  about  it." 

"Why,"  said  I,  "if  there  were  in  existence  in 
England,  a  history  of  King  Alfred's  reign  for  thirty 

[55] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


years,  written  by  his  own  hand,  it  would  not  be 
more  precious  in  the  eyes  of  Englishmen,  than  this 
manuscript  is  to  us." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  think  myself,  it  ought  to  go 
back,  and  if  it  had  depended  on  me,  it  would  have 
gone  back  before  this.  But,  the  Americans  who 
have  been  here — many  of  them  have  been  com- 
mercial people  —  did  not  seem  to  care  much  about 
it,  except  as  a  curiosity.  I  suppose  I  ought  not  to 
give  it  up,  on  my  own  authority.  It  belongs  to  me 
in  my  official  capacity,  and  not  as  private  or  personal 
property.  I  think  I  ought  to  consult  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  indeed  "  he  added,  "  I 
think  I  ought  to  speak  to  the  Queen  about  it.  We 
should  not  do  such  a  thing  behind  Her  Majesty's 

back."  '^ 

In  due  form,  and  through  the  cordial  offices  of 
Ambassador  T.  F.  Bayard  the  book  was  returned  to 
the  safe  custody  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 

*  Senator  Hoar's  speech  at  the  presentation  of  the  book  to  Governor  Wolcott, 
May  24th,  1897. 


[56] 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Stagnation   and   Revival. 

THE  year  1665  was  remarkable  for  two 
things  —  a  falling  off  of  interest  in  religion, 
so  that  ministers  could  not  obtain  support, 
and  the  churches  were  in  financial  straits,  and  the 
influx  of  Quakers.  The  former  was  probably  caused 
by  a  too  stringent  ecclesiasticism.  The  Puritan 
ideal,  which  had  been  kept  under  wholesome  re- 
straint in  Plymouth  Colony,  was  spreading  through 
the  state,  and  contracting  the  sympathies  of  both 
clergy  and  laity.  Religion  with  all  its  irksome  re- 
strictions was  becoming  too  much  of  a  burden.  It 
lacked  sweetness  and  light.  Rigid  and  sour-visaged 
piety  became  oppressive,  and  created  in  the  minds 
of  many,  a  disposition  to  turn  from  hard  conven- 
tionalism to  the  sincere,  joyous,  though  often  irrev- 
erent zeal  of  unclassified  prophets  and  prophetesses. 
Unordained  zealots  were  preferred  to  learned  minis- 
ters, and  noisy  worship  in  the  open  air  to  the  deco- 
rous service  in  the  Church.  The  Rev.  John  Reyner 
had  resigned  his  pulpit  in  1654,  to  the  regret  of  his 
parish,  and  for  thirteen  years,  the  old  church  was 
without  a  settled  pastor,  and  dependent  upon  Elder 
Cushman,  and  temporary  supplies.  The  town 
seems  to  have  been  given  up  to  ecclesiastical  confu- 
sion, in  which  whoever  was  disposed  might  prophesy. 
The  attempt  of  the  English  Parliament  to  regulate 
the  church  on  rigid  Presbyterian  principles  had  pro- 

[57] 


The    First    Church    In    Plymouth 

duced  a  set  of  Evangelistic  revivalists,  under  the 
leadership  of  George  Fox,  whose  followers,  num- 
bered by  thousands,  were  drawn  from  the  lower 
middle  class,  and  from  the  outer 
George  Fox  edge  of  all  the  sects.     They  de- 

and  the  Quakers,  spised  the  deadness  and  formal- 
ism of  the  established  faith,  and 
were  disturbed  by  its  apparent  inability  to  touch  the 
springs  of  moral  character.  Affecting  a  rugged  plain- 
ness of  attire,  and  an  equally  rugged  directness  of 
speech,  they  succeeded  in  making  themselves  obnox- 
ious. They  were  filled  with  a  boisterous  enthusiasm, 
sometimes  grotesque  and  even  gross.  In  a  way, 
v/hich  nobody  quite  understood,  these  visionaries 
and  fanatics  threw  the  corporate  life  of  the  Puritan 
and  other  churches  into  complete  disorder.  The 
old  meeting-houses  were  deserted,  and  crowds 
flocked  to  listen,  in  the  open  air,  to  these  seven- 
teenth century  wearers  of  camel's  hair  and  the  leath- 
ern girdle.  George  Fox,  the  Founder  of  the  Eng- 
lish Society  of  Friends,  had  his  followers  in  America, 
and  though  efforts  were  made  to  keep  them  out  of 
the  Colony,  they  persisted,  defying  the  law  and  the 
magistrates,  and  apparently  caring  nothing  for  fines 
and  imprisonment.  One  Humphrey  Norton,  claim- 
ing to  be  a  prophet,  came  to  Plymouth  in  1657,  and 
opened  his  tirade  of  abuse,  which  created  a  commo- 
tion. He  was  arrested,  and  the  Court  ordered  him 
to  leave  the  Colony,  the  under-marshal  taking  him 
to  Assonet,  near  Rhode  Island.  He  soon  returned, 
however,  bringing  with  him,  John   Rouse,  a   fiery 

[58] 


Stagnation    a  n  tl    1^  e  \m  v  a  1 


zealot,  like  himself.  These  two,  proclaimed  and 
declaimed,  and  disturbed  the  orderly  serenity  of  the 
old  town.  They  were  apprehended  and  committed 
to  prison.  In  the  course  of  the  trial  and  afterwards, 
they  addressed  the  Governor  and  Court,  in  language 
which  displayed  the  character  of  their  minds,  and 
unsettled  the  dignity  of  the  grave  assembly.  The 
movement  soon  died  out,  and  left  no  permanent 
traces  of  its  existence. 

The  objection  to  an  ordained  ministry  with  a 
salary,  w^hich  had  led  to  the  resignation  of  pastor 
Reyner,  and  had  been  one  of  the  causes  of  the  long 
interregnum  in  the  ministerial  succession,  seems  to 
have  been  overcome  in  1669,  when  the  Rev.  John 
Cotton,  son  of  the  famous  minister  of  the  First 
Church  in  Boston,  was  invited  to  take  charge  of 
the  vacant  pulpit.  He  was  a  man  of 
John  Cotton  scholarly  tastes  and  habits,  somewhat 
l66g.  decided    in    his    convictions,    diligent 

and  faithful  in  his  pastoral  duties.  He 
had  become  greatly  interested  in  the  Indians  and 
their  religious  education,  and  understood  their 
language  and  spiritual  needs,  revising  the  last  edi- 
tion of  their  Bible,  and  teaching  them  to  pray  in 
their  own  tongue.  M''  Cotton's  care  for  the  spir- 
itual interests  of  his  parish  was  constant.  Meet- 
ings were  organized  for  religious  instruction,  the 
children  of  the  Parish  were  regularly  catechised, 
and  great  efforts  were  made  to  restore  the  old  and 
influential  life  of  the  church,  which  had  suffered  dur- 
ing the  vacancy  in  the  pastorate.    The  meeting-house 

[59] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

was  falling  to  pieces  through  neglect  and  decay, 
and  it  was  decided  to  build  a  new  one,  larger  and 
handsomer  than  the  last.     The  new   structure  was 

erected  at  the  head  of 
The  Second  Meeting-  Town  Square,  and  all  that 
House   l68j.  we    know    about   it,  is,  that 

it  had  "  an  unceiled  Gothic 
roof,  diamond  glass,  with  a  small  cupola  and  bell." 
It  served  the  purposes  of  the  time,  and  became  the 
active  centre  of  ethical  and  spiritual  power. 

The  disposition  to  break  away  from  the  mother 
church,  for  one  reason  or  another,  continued.  In 
1694,  M'  Isaac  Cushman  had  been  invited  to 
minister  to  the  religious  necessities  of  a  small  society 
which  had  been  formed  at  Plympton,  then  part  of 
the  town  of  Plymouth.  M'  Cotton  contended 
that  he  ought  not  to  enter  the  ministry  irregularly, 
and  without  first  being  ordained  to  the  office  of 
ruling  elder,  by  the  church.  This  led  to  one  of 
those  feuds,  which  beginning  on  a  small  scale,  and 
within  a  limited  area,  soon  assumes,  disturbing  pro- 
portions. Families  took  sides,  and  bitter  recrimina- 
tions followed  ;  and  in  the  end,  the  minister  served 
as  a  scape-goat,  and  though  innocent  himself,  and 
fortified  by  ecclesiastical  usage,  was  sacrificed  to 
what  was  called  the  good  of  the  church,  which  has 
ever  been,  and  still  is,  a  hackneyed  apology  for 
congregational  meanness.  This  controversy  con- 
tinued for  about  three  years,  increasing  in  virulence, 
until  M""  Cotton  tendered  his  resignation  in  the  in- 
terests   of  harmony,    probably    sharing    the    moral 

[60] 


Stagnation    and    Revival 


indignation  of  Plautus  against  those  who  had  in- 
jured his  reputation  —  without,  perhaps,  daring  to 
utter  it. 

Homines  qui  gestant,  quique  ascultant  crimina 

Si  meo  arbitratu  liceat,  omnes  pendeant, 

Gestores  linguis,  auditores  auribus. 

That  (rumour  notwithstanding)  he  was  not  guilty 
of  anything  worse  than  speaking  his  mind  with  too 
much  freedom  and  veracity,  is  obvious  from  the 
fact,  that  he  had  a  large  and  influential  following  in 
the  church,  took  another  pulpit  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  and  when  he  died  in  1699,  was 
buried  with  respect  and  honour,  by  his  old  parish- 
ioners, who  erected  a  monument  over  his  grave. 

In  the  year  1698,  another  branch  of  the  First 
Church  was  established  at  Plympton.  This  was  the 
fourth  church  which  had  gone  away 
The  Ply??ipton  from  the  old  parish,  to  suit  the 
Church  l6()8,  convenience  of  people  living  at  a 
distance  from  the  centre  of  the 
town,  and  like  all  previous  departures,  it  weakened 
the  resources  and  diminished  the  strength  of  the 
parent  society.  Still,  the  church  bravely  held  up 
its  head,  and  went  on  its  way,  in  the  dauntless  spirit 
of  its  Founders. 

The  next  step  was  to  appoint  a  successor  to  M"^ 
Cotton,  and  the  Rev.  Ephraim  Little  was  ordained 
pastor,  after  a  short  probation.  He  was  not  a  man 
of  scholarly  and  studious  habits,  like  so  many  of 
his  predecessors,  but  was  possessed  of  consider- 
able natural  gifts,  and  of  executive  ability  beyond 

[61] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

the  average,   making   up    in    devoted    service,   and 
large-hearted    benevolence,   what 
Ephratm   Little    he    lacked    in    conventional    ac- 
i6qQ-  quirements  —  a  good  and  faithful 

minister,  painstaking  in  his  work, 
and  tenderly  solicitous  of  the  needs  of  the  sick  and 
poor.  He  ministered  to  the  church  for  twenty 
years,  winning  and  keeping  the  esteem  and  affection 
of  his  people,  and  never  growing  weary  in  well-do- 
ing, until  failing  health  compelled  him  to  relinquish 
his  duties.  During  his  later  ministry,  there  came 
another  birth  ecclesiastical,  and  a  church  was 
founded  at  the  North  end  of  the   town,  known   as 

Jones  River  Parish,  afterwards 
The  Kingston  Kingston.  One  wonders  how  a 
Church  IJ IJ .  church,  never  very  strong,  either  in 

wealth  or  numbers,  could  survive 
these  repeated  defections.  But,  one  of  its  domi- 
nating ambitions  was  to  spread  the  truth,  and 
proclaim  the  humane  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
the  faithful  souls,  who  stood  by  it  through  all 
its  trials,  were  comforted  by  the  thought,  that 
every  new  society  was  not  only  a  jewel  in  its 
crown  of  rejoicing,  but  witnessed  to  its  increase 
of  faith,  and  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of 
righteousness. 

On  the  23"^  of  November  1723,  M'  Little  was 
called  to  his  rest,  at  the  age  of  84.  His  grave  is  on 
Burial  Hill,  by  the  side  of  so  many  good  town's- 
folk  whose  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  he  so 
faithfully  tended. 

[6z] 


Stasjnation    and    Revival 


For  five  years  the  church  was  without  a  settled 
pastor,  the  pulpit  being  supplied  for  some  time,  by 
neighboring  ministers.  It  was  too  weak  to  offer 
any  great  material  inducements  to  clergymen  seek- 
ing settlements,  and  this  difficulty  was  considerably 
enhanced,  by  the  somewhat  fastidious  tastes  of  the 
community,  in  the  matter  of  choosing  a  minister. 
It  had  enjoyed  the  services  of  many  able  and  learned 
men,  scholars  and  preachers,  who  loved  their  pro- 
fession for  its  honour  and  usefulness,  and  not  for  its 
worldly  advantages,  and  was  not,  therefore,  easily 
satisfied. 

On  the  29'''  of  July  1724,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Leonard  was  ordained  to  the  long  vacant  pulpit. 
His  advent  on  the  scene  was 
Nathaniel  Leonard  shortly  marked  by  stirring 
I72d.  movements    in    the    stagnant 

pools  of  religious  conventiona- 
lism, and  there  was  a  return  to  something  like  the 
fierv  zeal  of  the  Quaker  Revival.  A  considerable 
number  of  people  were  again  dissatisfied  with  the 
cold  dignified  regime  of  a  learned  ministry  and 
ancient  customs.  They  sighed,  as  religious  people 
do,  at  regular  intervals,  for  something  more  demon- 
strative and  sensational.  Not  heeding  the  quiet 
processes  of  growth  with  which  Nature  perfects  her 
creations  they  conclude  that  things  which  make  no 
noise  must  be  dead. 

In  the  midst  of  this  rising  tide  of  religious  fervour 
came  another  exodus  of  church  members.  Twenty- 
five  persons,  in  good  and  regular  standing,  formed 

[63] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

a  new  church  at  Manomet  Ponds,  and  the  ranks  of  the 
faithful  were  once  more  depleted. 
T^he  Manomet  Depressed  by  the  loss,  and  probably 
Church  IJjS.  desiring  to  recruit  its  strength,  the 
church  against  the  conviction  of 
many  of  its  staid  members,  threw  in  its  lot,  with  one 
of  those  periodic  convulsions,  which  ushered  in 
"  The  Great  Awakening."  People  were  called  upon 
to  give  oral  proof  of  their  conversion.  It  was  not 
enough  to  be  a  Christian  by  baptism,  or  formal  affili- 
ation with  the  church,  but  every  Christian  by  pro- 
fession was  expected  to  give  the  precise  date  and 
circumstance  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  change,  and 
to  be  able  to  say  something  about  it,  to  shout  in 
chorus,  if  nothing  better  could  be  done.  Pure  liv- 
ing must  be  supplemented  by  vigorous  hallelujahs, 
and  more  or  less  frantic  gesticulations. 

In  the  year  1743,  one  Andrew  Croswell,  an  itin- 
erant preacher,  visited  the  town,  determined  to  take 
the  kingdom  by  violence.  All  true  disciples  were 
invited  to  stand  up  and  be  counted.  Regular  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  who  were  living  quiet  and  devout 
lives,  were  told  that  their  righteousness  was  only  as 
filthy  rags,  and  people  to  whom  religion  was  a  slow 
spiritual  growth,  and  who  had  never  been  accus- 
tomed to  sound  the  loud  timbrel,  to  whom  "  the 
unconscious  was  the  alone  complete,"  were  classified 
among  the  unconverted.  Shallow  zealots,  often 
ignorant  and  inexperienced,  were  invited  to  testify, 
as  if  anything  they  could  say  about  the  higher  and 
holier    life,    was    worth     listening    to.       Hysterical 

[64] 


Stag;  nation    and    Revival 


women  and  phenomenal  children  took  to  declama- 
tion and  prophecy,  and  the  whole  town  was  thrown 
into  a  state  of  wild  commotion. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  sober  element  in  the 
community  began  to  ask.  questions.  There  was  an 
awakening  of  the  intellect  as  well  as  of  the  emotions. 
What  is  called  "a  revival  "  is  very  apt  to  provoke 
scepticism, 

M'  Leonard  seems  to  have  been  captivated,  and 
carried  away,  by  the  excitement.  His  attitude  on 
this  matter  caused  disaffection  and  indifference  in 
the  parish.  Zealous  observers  of  ordinances,  and 
regular  attendants  at  public  worship,  showed  their 
disapproval  of  his  action,  by  neglecting  their  relig- 
ious duties.  At  last,  the  disaffection  ripened  into 
revolt.  IVP  Josiah  Cotton,  whose  deeply  spiritual 
character  was  not  to  be  questioned,  invited  the  min- 
ister to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Parish  to  discuss  the 
following  questions  :  — 

1.  "Whether  a  sudden  and  short  distress,  and  as 
sudden  joy,  amounts  to  the  repentance  described 
and  required.     (2  Corinthians  VII  9-1 1) 

2.  Whether  the  judging  and  censuring  others  as 
unconverted,  against  whose  lives  and  conversation 
nothing  is  objected,  be  not  too  pharisaical,  and 
contrary  to  the  rule  of  charity,  prescribed  in  the 
Word,  and  a  bold  intrusion  into  the  Divine  prerog- 
ative. 

3.  Whether  that  spirit  which  leads  us  off  from 
the  Scriptures,  or  comparatively  to  undervalue  them, 
be  a  good  spirit :   as  for  instance,  the  disorder  and 

[65] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

confusion  in  our  public  meetings,  contrary  to  the 
Scripture  rule  (i  Corinthians  XIV)  the  breaking  in 
upon  the  order  and  religion  of  families,  by  fre- 
quent unseasonable  evening  lectures,  without  Script- 
ure precept,  or  example  (except  an  extraordinary 
case). 

4.  Women  and  children  teaching  and  exhorting 
in  the  public  assemblies,  contrary  to  the  apostolical 
direction.  Many  other  things  might  be  mentioned 
but  are  omitted.  But,  inasmuch  as  it  has  been 
publicly  suggested,  that  three-fourths  of  this  church 
are  unconverted,  we  would  humbly  move,  that  we 
may  meet  together,  in  order  to  know  v/hether  they 
are  in  charity  with  one  another,  and  also,  that  the 
admission  of  members,  may  not  be  too  hastily 
pushed  on,  till  we  are  better  satisfied  concerning  the 
spirit  that  stirs  up  people  to  their  duty  herein." 
Whether  M'  Leonard  deemed  it  prudent  to  keep 
all  this  inflammable  material  out  of  a  church  meeting, 
or  did  not  wish  to  be  drawn  into  a  personal  contro- 
versy, is  not  known ;  but  the  questions  were  not 
submitted  to  a  public  meeting. 

M'  Cotton,  however,  was  bent  upon  forcing  an 
issue.  He,  and  eighty  others  like  minded,  decided 
to  seek  separation  from  the  church.  They  petitioned 
for  dismissal,  and  their  request  was  granted,  and  in 
1744,  a  new  church  was  formed,  to  be  called  The 
Third  Church  and  Congregation  in  Plymouth.  The 
new  community  erected  a  place  of  worship  in  King 
Street,  now  Middle  Street. 

The  year   1744  was   noticeable  on  account  of  a 

[66] 


Sta[Tnation    and    Revival 


visit  to  Plymouth  of  the  great  English  Revivalist  the 
Rev.  George  Whitefield,  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
pulpit  orators  of  his  time.      While  acting  as  servitor 

at  Pembroke  College,  Oxford, 
George  Whitefield  he  came  under  the  influence 
and  the  of  John    and    Charles    Wesley. 

Methodists  iy44.   His  zeal  and  piety  induced  the 

Bishop  of  Gloucester  to  ordain 
him  deacon  in  1736,  hut  so  great  was  his  power  as  a 
preacher,  that  he  w-as  sent  on  an  Evangelistic  tour, 
and  drew  vast  multitudes  to  hear  him.  Wesley  in- 
vited him  to  go  to  Georgia  as  a  missionary.  He 
accepted  the  call,  and  arrived  in  America  on  the 
17'^  of  May  1738,  only  to  remain,  however,  for 
a  very  brief  period.  He  returned  to  England  to 
receive  priest's  orders,  and  to  secure  contributions 
towards  his  work  in  Georgia.  During  his  absence 
from  his  native  land,  Wesley  had  diverged  some- 
what from  Calvinism,  and  this  change  led  White- 
field  to  withdraw  from  the  Wesleyan  communion. 
He  returned  to  America  in  1744,  and  commenced 
his  preaching  itinerary.  It  does  not  appear,  that  he 
owned  any  great  gift  of  thought,  or  wide  range  of 
knowledge,  or  scholarship.  He  had  none  of  the 
philosophic  genius  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  or  the 
organizing  gift  of  John  Wesley.  His  success  as 
a  preacher  was  due  to  his  great  elocutionary  and 
dramatic  power,  a  phenomenal  voice,  and  a  spiritual 
magnetism,  which  attracted  attention,  and  held  it. 
He  subdued  men  to  serious  thought  by  his  stern 
denunciations  of  sin,  and  captivated  their  hearts,  by 


[67] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

his  searching  pathos.  His  visit  to  Plymouth,  at 
this  time,  was  doubtless  intended,  like  his  later  visit 
in  1754,  as  an  antidote  to  the  Arminianism,  which 
had  taken  firm  root  in  the  community,  and  was 
thought  to  have  wrought  much  mischief.  He 
preached  several  times,  and  always  to  crowded 
congregations. 

The  old  meeting-house,  which  had  stood  for 
more  than  sixty  years,  resisting  wind  and  weather, 

and  a  stroke  of  lightning,  was 
The  Third  Meeting-  in  poor  condition,  and  the  so- 
House  1744  ciety  resolved  to  erect  a  new 

structure  on  the  same  spot. 
The  building  was  quickly  reared,  and  the  opening 
service  was  conducted  by  the  pastor,  with  great  re- 
joicing. 

In  1744-5  the  church  lost  by  death  the  last  of  its 
ruling  elders,  Mr.  Thomas  Faunce.  He  had  held 
this  responsible  position  for  many  years,  and  had 
shared  with  the  minister  the  care  and  supervision 
not  only  of  the  material,  but  the  spiritual  interests 
of  the  community.  The  office  of  a  ruling  elder 
was  next  in  importance  to  that  of  the  minister,  and 
was  always  held  by  a  person  of  good  education 
and  accredited  moral  and  religious  standing.  Mr. 
Faunce  stood  in  few  respects,  if  any,  behind  his 
eminent  predecessors,  in  the  exercise  of  his  sacred 
office. 

In  the  autumn  of  1755,  owing  to  increasing 
physical  weakness,  Mr.  Leonard  was  compelled  to 
resign  his  ministry.      His  resignation  was  accepted 

[68] 


Sta2;nation    and    Revi\^al 


on  condition  that  his  services  should  be  maintained 
until  the  settlement  of  his  successor.  Then  fol- 
lowed an  interregnum  of  several  years,  in  which  the 
society  made  unsuccessful  efforts  to  obtain  a  suitable 
pastor. 


[69] 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Creed,  or  no  Creed? 

THE    Rev:     Chandler    Robbins   D.D.    was 
called  to   the   Plymouth   Church,  and  or- 
dained in  1760.     He   was   the  son   of  the 
Rev.   Philemon   Robbins,  and  a  graduate  of   Yale 
College.     By  birth  and   educa- 
Chandler  Robbins   tion  his  tendencies  were  towards 
lydo  I'igid   Calvinism,  which   though 

firmly  rooted  in  Connecticut, 
was  subject  to  attacks  from  ministers  and  laymen  in 
Massachusetts.  The  spirit  of  the  age  was  against 
it.  The  air  was  charged  with  scepticism  both  as  to 
its  reasonableness  and  Scriptural  authority.  John 
Robinson's  injunction,  that  the  Pilgrims  and  their 
descendants,  should  keep  their  minds  open  to  new 
revelation  was  on  the  eve  of  a  severe  test.  Mr. 
Robbins  set  himself  to  check  the  rising  tide  of 
liberalism  in  Plymouth,  always  bearing  himself 
with  becoming  dignity,  selfrespect,  and  courtesy, 
towards  those  who  differed  from  him ;  but  resolutely 
bent  upon  stemming  the  waves  which  threatened 
his  headland  of  faith.  There  is  something  pathetic 
in  the  way  men  stubbornly  resist  the  inevitable 
tides  of  thought.  Argument  is  of  no  avail,  per- 
suasion does  not  count,  facts  are  brushed  aside. 
The  old  dogmas  must  be  retained  at  all  hazards,  if 
not  in  substance,  then  in  form,  and  new  trenches 
must  be   dug  around  the  assaulted   citadels.      Mr. 

[70] 


Creed,    or    no    Creed? 


Robbins  addressed  himself  to  the  task  in  good 
earnest,  and  began  to  tighten  the  cords  of  behef, 
and  against  all  the  traditions  of  Pilgrim  history,  to 
encircle  the  community  with  doctrinal  defences.  In 
1772,  he  introduced  for  consideration  a  number  of 
attached  articles  affecting  affiliation  with  the  church. 
The  door  of  the  Half-way  Covenant,  opened  some 
years  before,  must  be  closed,  and  admission  to  the 
church  be  through  the  wicket-gate  of  special  election. 
Article  VI  raised  the  question  "  whether  it  be  the 
opinion  of  the  church,  that  the  half-way  practice  of 
owning  or  entering  into  covenant,  which  has  of 
late  years  been  adopted  by  this  church,  be  a  Script- 
ural method  —  or  a  practice  warranted  by  the  word 
ot  God,  and  so  to  be  persisted  in,"  On  the  one 
side  it  was  urged,  that  children  born  of  visible  be- 
Hevers,  and  baptized  in  infancy,  were  properly  and 
truly  members  of  the  visible  church,  and,  therefore, 
might  claim  the  privileges  of  church,  members,  when 
they  arrived  at  adult  age,  and  so  by  owning  the 
covenant,  it  is  not  to  be  understood,  that  they  qual- 
ified themselves  thereby  for  the  privileges  of  the 
covenant  —  they  had  a  right  to  them  before  — 
but  it  is  needful  that  they  should  acknowledge  what 
their  parents  did  for  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  pleaded,  that  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper,  are  both  seals  of  the  cove- 
nant, viz,  the  Covenant  of  Grace.  And  that,  con- 
sequently, they  who  had  a  right  to  one  seal,  had  a 
right  also  to  the  other,  and  yet,  they  had  no  right 
from  the  word  of  God,  to  make  a   distinction   be- 


[71] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

tween  the  two  seals,  as  if  one  was  more  holy  than 
the  other  —  that  would  be  a  dangerous  tendency  to 
put  aside  what  God  had  joined  together.*  This 
dispute,  arising  out  of  neglect  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, divided  the  parish  so  seriously,  that  it  was  not 
deemed  expedient,  in  the  interests  of  unity  and 
peace,  to  proceed  further  with  it.  The  issue  was  a 
technical  one,  and  since  men  and  women  of  unques- 
tioned probity,  and  exemplary  Christian  character, 
were  arrayed  on  both  sides,  it  was  not  deemed  ad- 
visable to  push  it  to  an  extremity. 

It  was  natural  that  the  church  should  unite  with 
the  town  in  support  of  the  independence  of  the  col- 
onies. Discontent  with  taxes  and  exactions  had 
long  been  rife  in  the  breasts  of  Plymouth  merchants, 
and  James  W.  Warren  and  Isaac  Lothrop  chosen 
to  represent  the  town  in  the  Provincial  Congress 
were  instructed  to  support  any  movement  of  the 
colonies  against  British  oppression.  Dr.  Robbins 
advocated  resistance  and  independence,  and  the 
town  was  put  in  a  state  of  defence.  Many  obnox- 
ious royalists  felt  uncomfortable  and  retired.  Dur- 
ing the  Revolution,  the  community  suffered  from 
the  suspension  of  trade  and  commerce,  and  the  fear 
of  invasion,  and  in  i-'-vS— 9,  there  was  great  distress, 
so  that  the  people,  tarough  their  selectmen,  had  to 
petition  his  Excellency  Jonathan  Trumbull  Esq., 
Captain-General,  Governor  and  Commander-in- 
Chief,  in  and  over  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  the 
Honorable  Council  of  said   State,  for  the  absolute 

*The  First  Church  Records. 
[7^ 


Creed,   or   no    Creed? 


necessities  of  life.  M'  James  Warren  writing  to 
Jonathan  Trumbull,  urged  immediate  aid  "  Many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  who  have  been  used 
to  an  affluent  living  have  been  for  weeks  destitute 
of  bread,  which,  in  addition  to  their  peculiar  suffer- 
ings from  a  total  loss  of  their  chief  dependence  for 
a  subsistence,  renders  their  case  truly  pitiable."'^ 
Starvation  did  not,  however,  weaken  their  loyalty  to 
libertv,  for  when  in  the  year  1775,  General  Gage 
proposed  to  locate  the  "  Queen's  Guards  "  at  Plym- 
outh, and  the  opinion  of  M""  John  Watson  was 
asked  as  to  the  wisdom  of  this  step,  the  latter  re- 
plied, "  It  is  mv  opinion  that  it  will  not  be  prudent 
to  bring  your  company  here,  for  the  people  are  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement  and  alarm."  "  Will  they 
fight  ?"  asked  the  Captain  of  the  Guards.  "Yes" 
replied  John  Watson,  "like  devils."  In  1783,  the 
conflict  was  brought  to  a  close,  and  the  town  re- 
sumed its  wonted  activities,  and  set  to  work  to 
repair  the  ravages  of  eight  years  of  war. 

The  Third  Church  and  Congreo-ation  settled  in 
King  Street  in  1744,  came  to  an  end  in  1776,  and 
returned  to  the  ancient  fold  thereby  strengthening 
the  forces  of  liberalism  in  the  community. 

The  religious  controversy  was  silenced  but  not 
settled.  On  the  ii^*"  of  December  1794,  a  meeting 
of  the  precinct  was  convened  to  hear  a  report  from 
a  committee,  of  which  D"^  Robbins  was  chairman, 
relating  to  certain  proposed  alterations  in  the  disci- 
pline and  practice  of  the  church,  which  committee 

*  Trumbull  Papers.     Collections  of  the  Mass.  Historical  Society. 
[73] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

was  to  meet  a  committee  of  the  church  to  discuss 
the  question  and  to  report.  The  report  of  the 
church  committee  is  as  follows  — 

"  The  committee  appointed,  whereof  the  pastor 
was  chairman,  was  not  of  so  conciliatory  and  accom- 
modating a  nature  as  your  committee  were  sincerely 
desirous  might  take  place.  In  respect  to  the  first 
Article,  that  the  children  of  baptized  parents  of 
sober  life  and  conversation,  and  professing  their 
belief  in  the  Christian  Religion  should  be  admitted 
to  baptism,  the  committee  of  said  church  would  not 
agree  to  any  qualified  sense  whatever,  nor  were  the 
committee  of  the  church  so  far  to  extend  the  terms 
of  admission  into  its  communion  as  to  embrace  all 
persons  of  sober  life  and  conversation  though  un- 
feigned believers  in  the  Christian  Religion,  unless 
they  would  subscribe  to  certain  articles  of  faith, 
which  have  indeed  been  the  subject  of  dispute, 
among  Christians  of  great  eminence  and  piety,  but 
which  were  never  heard  of  as  a  term  of  communion 
amongst  the  Apostles  and  primitive  Christians. 
Nothing  more  could  be  obtained  on  this  head,  than 
that  baptism  may  be  administered  by  a  neighbour- 
ing minister.  Upon  the  whole  your  committee 
are  constrained  to  lament  the  narrow  policy  of  the 
church,  in  excluding  from  its  communion,  many 
exemplary  Christians,  merely  on  account  of  their 
different  conceptions  of  some  points  of  doctrine, 
about  which  learned  and  good  men,  have  enter- 
tained a  great  variety  of  opinions,  and  this  cir- 
cumstance is  more  especially  a  source  of  regret,  at 

[74] 


i 


Creed,    or    no    Creed? 


this  enlightened  period,  when  the  principles  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  are  almost  universally  under- 
stood and  practised.  For  whatever  stress  some 
persons  may  be  disposed  to  lay  on  matters  of 
mere  speculation,  the  benevolent  genius  of  the 
Gospel,  will  teach  its  votaries,  amidst  all  their 
differences  of  opinion,  to  exercise  mutual  candour 
and  indulgence,  that  they  may  if  possible,  preserve 
the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."'''  Not- 
withstanding this  report,  which  represented  the  feel- 
ing of  a  large  section  of  the  church,  D'  Robbins 
again  raised  the  issue  in  1795,  in  the  shape  of  a 
creed,  as  a  test  to  Christian  fellowship.  He  formu- 
lated a  Calvinistic  Confession  of  Faith  and  insisted 
that  subscription  to  it,  should  be  made  the  test  of 
fellowship.  A  creed  in  the  First  Church,  and 
among  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  was  an  innova- 
tion. Neither  John  Robinson  nor  his  successors, 
had  ever  proposed  anything  of  the  kind.  The  Pil- 
grims had  their  religious  beliefs,  to  which  they 
clung  tenaciously,  but  it  never  occurred  to  them,  to 
imitate  their  oppressors,  and  try  to  inflict  upon 
others  the  stigmas,  penalties,  and  disabilities,  from 
which  they  had  themselves  escaped,  at  great  cost. 
Such  a  step  must  not  be  allowed  to  pass  unchal- 
lenged. The  liberals,  therefore  contemplated  a 
second  departure  from  the  church.  Their  respect 
for  the  personal  character  of  D'  Robbins  forbade 
any  action  inside  the  church,  which  would  seriously 
affect  his  position.     They  contemplated  a  division 

*  Records  of  The  First  Church. 


[75] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

and  the  establishment  of  a  new  society.  Wiser 
counsels,  however,  prevailed,  and  the  creed  was 
tolerated  for  a  little  while.      But,  when  on  June  30* 

1799,  D''  Robbins  died,  after  thirty-nine  years  of 
faithful  service,  the  desire  for  more  liberal  preaching 
revived.  An  opportunity  presented  itself  for  the 
election  of  a  pastor  answering  to  the  progressive 
spirit  of  the  age,  and  to  the  needs  of  a  majority  in 
the  church  and  the  precinct.  A  large  number  of 
people  who  considered  themselves  both  orthodox 
and  evangelical,  but  not  Calvinistic,  and  who  had  sat 
uneasily  under  the  ministry  of  D'  Robbins,  felt  that 
they  were  entitled  to  some  consideration  in  the 
choice  of  a  minister,  and,  therefore,  combined  to 
choose  some  one  in  harmony  with  their  needs  and 
principles.  The  choice  fell  upon  M'  James  Ken- 
dall, who  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1796,  and  was  a 
tutor    at    the    College,  when    called    to    Plymouth. 

He  was  elected   by  a  considerable 
yames  Kendall  majority  in  the  church,  and  an  over- 

1800.  whelming  majority  in  the  precinct. 
Unlike    so    many   Congregational 

Churches,  at  this  time  and  after,  the  First  Church 
resisted  Calvinism  so  completely,  that  there  was  no 
ground  left  for  dispute  or  litigation.  The  Church 
and  the  Parish  were  of  one  mind,  and  the  forces  of 
opposition  were  in  a  minority.  The  change  thus 
wrought  was  more  in  the  nature  of  growth  than  rev- 
olution. It  had  come  slowly,  imperceptibly,  as  the 
morning  gently  scattering  the  mists  of  night,  as  the 
opening    spring   giving    new  energy   to   a    sleeping 

[76] 


Creed,   or    no    Creed? 


world.  The  Church  and  its  new  minister  were  well 
within  the  lines  of  Evangelical  Congregationalism, 
and  certainly  more  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Forefathers,  than  those  who  resisted  the  change. 
It  is  wrongly  supposed  that  Unitarianism  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  division  ;  but  liberalism  did 
not  take  that  form  until  twenty  years  later.  At  the 
time  Dr.  Kendall  was  ordained,  neither  Channing, 
Emerson  or  Parker  had  spoken  the  words,  which 
lifted  so  many  New  England  churches  from  their 
moorings.  No :  the  change  in  the  Plymouth 
Church  came  from  within,  and  not  from  without, 
was  a  growth  of  the  divine  spirit  in  the  human 
heart,  and  not  a  sudden  conversion.  The  records 
of  the  church  give  no  indication  of  bitterness  of  feel- 
ing, or  angry  resentment.  The  theological  transi- 
tion from  Dr.  Robbins  to  Dr.  Kendall  was  placid,  if 
not  pleasant,  and  when  in  September  1800,  the  un- 
satisfied minority  sought  separation,  it  was  not  with 
any  evident  signs  of  ill-will,  although  the  intellectual 
and  social  cleavage  was  pronounced. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Records  of  the 
First  Church,  indicate  the  spirit  which  actuated 
those  who  remained,  and  those  who  went  out.  On 
the  ly*""  of  September  1800,  the  following  petition 
signed  by  fifteen  men  and  thirty-five  women  was 
presented  to  a  meeting  of  the  church. 

"We  request  that  all  the  members,  male  and 
female  that  wish  to  be  dismissed  from  their  relation 
to  the  First  Church  in  Plymouth,  and  that  any 
male  or  female  desiring  hereafter  a  dismission  from 

[77] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


either  church,  to  join    the   other,  be  dismissed  if 
recommended  to  the  other." 

The  meeting  adjourned  for  a  week  to  consider 
the  question,  not  desiring  to  do  anything,  or  to 
permit  anything  to  be  done,  hastily. 

"  The  church  agreeable  to  adjournment  met  on 
the  following  week,  at  the  house  of  the  pastor, 
when  the  petitioners  explained  their  meaning  in 
the  clause  respecting  the  dismission  of  members 
from  one  church  to  the  other,  hereafter,  with  a 
recommendation.  They  said,  they  had  nothing 
further  in  view,  by  injecting  the  clause,  than  that 
the  removal  of  relations  from  one  church  to  the 
other  in  future,  be  regulated  according  to  the  usual 
practice  of  this,  and  other  Congregational  churches 
in  New  England.  They  also  reUnquish  their  pre- 
tended claim  to  the  church  furniture,  being  con- 
vinced that  it  was  given  to  the  First  Church,  the 
present  members  are  not  exclusively  entitled  to  it, 
and  therefore,  had  no  right  to  the  disposal  of  it. 
They  asked  only  for  the  privilege  of  using  it,  a  cer- 
tain time,  till  it  was  convenient  for  them  to  furnish 
their  own  table."*  The  following  petition  and 
resolutions  were  then  presented. 

"  We  the  subscribers  being  members  of  the  First 
Church  of  Christ  in  Plymouth,  request  to  be  dis- 
missed, and  establish  in  a  church  estate  among  our- 
selves, by  the  name  of  the  Third  Church  in 
Plymouth. 

Resolved,  That  the  petitioners  be  dismissed  from 

*  Records  of  the  First  Church. 
[78] 


Creed,   or   no    Creed? 


their  special  relation  to  the  First  Church  of  Christ 
in  Plymouth,  in  order  to  be  set  off  into  a  distinct 
church  by  the  name  of  the  Third  Church  of  Christ 
in  Plymouth,  agreeable  to  their  request.  The  vote 
was  passed  in  the  affirmative  unanimously. 

The  church  further  voted,  That  they  have  the 
privilege  of  using  the  furniture  at  their  communions 
for  two  years. 

The  meeting  then  closed  as  usual,  and  dissolved 
in  harmony.  May  the  great  Head  of  the  church 
smile  upon  these  transactions  that  they  may  con- 
tribute to  the  more  rapid  advancement  of  his  king- 
dom among  us  !  "  "^ 

So  ended,  amicably  and  peacefully,  although  not 
without  deep  feeling,  the  first  separation  in  the 
church,  into  which  dogmatic  differences  had  entered. 
Both  parties,  those  who  stayed,  and  those  who  left, 
acted  conscientiously  and  loyally.  The  old  First 
Church  was  firmly  convinced  that  it  was  supported 
in  its  action  bv  the  authority  of  Scripture  and  the 
traditions  of  Pilgrim  history. 

The  seceders  applied  to  the  General  Court  for  in- 
corporation as  the  Third  Congregational  Society  in 
Plymouth,  pleading  the  inadequacy  of  one  church  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  town,  (the  second  church 
being  at  Manomet)  and  their  inability  to  co-operate 
with  their  late  co-religionists  through  lack  of  agree- 
ment and  sympathy. 

The  charter  was  granted,  and  in  1802,  Deacon 
John   Bishop   with   his   fellow-seceders  were   incor- 

*  Records  of  the  Fiist  Church. 


[79] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 


porated  as  a  distinct  society.  Before  taking  steps 
to  erect  a  church  building  they  petitioned  the  town 
for  a  lot  on  Training  Green. 
T^he  Third  Church  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
of  Christ  in  take  the  matter  into  considera- 

Ply?nouth  l8oi.  tion  and  to  report.  After  de- 
liberation, they  decided,  in  view 
of  the  contemplated  sale  of  the  whole  of  Training 
Green,  that  it  was  inexpedient  at  this  time.  "To 
comply  with  the  request  of  the  applicants  by  grant- 
ing a  lot,  for  the  purpose  mentioned,  would  in  the 
opinion  of  your  committee,  not  only  preclude  the 
Town  under  whatever  circumstances,  it  may  be, 
from  opposing  the  prosecution  of  that  object ;  but 
would  sanction  the  separation  of  a  small  number 
of  persons,  on  principles  which  do  not  appear  to  be 
substantial  and  well-founded.  If  religious  societies 
are  to  be  split  up  into  divisions,  merely  for  a  variance 
of  sentiment  in  certain  polemic  speculations,  about 
which  the  greatest  and  best  men  in  all  ages  of  the 
Christian  Church  have  differed,  each  Christian  must 
consecrate  his  own  dwelling,  as  his  sanctuary,  for 
scarcely  two  of  the  best  informed  Christians  can  be 
found  precisely  to  agree  on  every  controversial 
point."  * 

A  church  was  erected  on  the  westerly  side  of 
Training  Green,  and  the  Rev.  Adoniram  Judson 
was  settled  as  the  first  pastor.  Later  on,  two 
churches  sprung  from  the  new  society,  one  at  Eel 
River  in   1814,  andthe  Robinson  church  in   1830. 

*Town  Records  -vide  Hon.  W.  T.  Davis's  Ancient  Landmarks  of  Plymouth. 

[80] 


Creed,   or   no    Creed? 


On  the  5th  of  May  1870,  the  name  of  the  Third 
Church  was  changed  to  "  The  Church  and  Society 
of  the  Pilgrimage,"  and  a  Church  Manual  was 
printed,  which  appropriated  all  the  ministers  and 
deacons  of  the  First  Church  down  to  1801,  and  set 
up  an  unwarranted  claim  to  be  the  first  and  oldest 
church  in  America,  although  on  the  14th  of  No- 
vember of  the  same  year,  the  Church  of  the  Pil- 
grimage adopted  new  Articles  of  Faith,  with  a  new 
covenant,  and  rules  of  government. 


[81] 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Back   to   the   Past. 

THE  Creed  of  1795,  the  real  cause  of  dis- 
sension in  the  First  Church,  still  remained 
to  be  dealt  with.  That  had  been  the  apple 
of  discord  in  the  community,  and  would  remain 
a  disturbing  factor,  unless  some  action  was  taken 
upon  it.  A  creed  in  such  a  church,  and  with  such 
a  history,  was  a  dangerous  anachronism.  The  creed 
in  question  was  a  strongly  Calvinistic  statement  of 
faith,  and  was  intended  to  rule  out  of  fellowship, 
all  who  could  not  subscribe  to  it.  Its  fundamental 
propositions  were  in  substance  the  following, 

I.  The  apostacy  and  total  depravity  of  human 
nature  by  sin. 

1.  Salvation  purchased  by  the  atoning  blood  of 
Christ. 

3.  The  absolute  necessity  of  regeneration  by  the 
supernatural  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
sovereignty  of  divine  grace  in  the  conversion  of 
sinners. 

4.  The  true  and  proper  deity  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  only  meritorious  ground  of  justification 
before  God. 

5.  Eternal  happiness  for  the  elect :  eternal  misery 
for  the  rest. 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers  may  have  believed  these 
dogmas,  wholly  or  in  part,  but  they  never  put  them 
into   a   creed,  or   made  belief  in  them   essential  to 

[82] 


Back    to    the    Past 


Christian  fellowship.  The  simple  covenant  still  in 
use  at  the  First  Church  satisfied  their  requirements. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising,  that  after  the  death 
of  Dr.  Robbins,  the  community  rebelled  against  the 
new  instrument,  and  quietly  resolved  to  get  rid  of 
it;  and  on  the  9th  of  July  1820,  "a  meeting  was 
called  to  consider  the  expediency  of  altering  the 
terms  or  conditions  of  becoming  members  of  the 
church,  and  enjoying  Christian  privileges,  in  order 
to  render  them  more  conformable  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  Gospel,  more  agreeable  to  apostolic 
practice,  and  more  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of 
this  church  for  175  years.  It  appeared  that  in  1795 
a  departure  from  the  ancient  usage  of  the  church 
was  introduced  by  adopting  a  written  creed  or  con- 
fession, which  was  thought  to  be  a  condition  of  ad- 
mission to  Christian  ordinances,  and  not  promotive 
of  the  increase  and  prosperity  of  the  church.  That 
it  was,  in  fact  a  departure  from  the  practice  of  this 
church  from  the  time  of  our  forefathers,  and  from 
the  first  principle  of  Protestantism  —  which  is  a  suf- 
ficiency of  Holy  Scripture  for  all  the  purposes  of 
faith  and  practice.  Instead,  therefore,  of  continuing 
to  make  a  public  acknowledgment  of  this  creed,  a 
condition  of  enjoying  Christian  fellowship  and  com- 
munion in  future,  it  was  voted  unanimously  to  re- 
turn to  the  former  practice  of  this  church,  in  this 
respect,  and  adopt  the  covenant  made  use  of  by  the 
church  previous  to  the  year  i795."'"'' 

It  is  interesting  to  observe,  how  both  parties  to 

*  Records  of  the  First  Church. 


[83] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

this  controversy,  those  who  accepted  the  creed,  and 
those  who  rejected  it,  appealed  to  Scripture,  and 
especially  to  the  Gospels,  in  support  of  their  con- 
flicting opinions.  Both  claimed  to  be  evangelical. 
The  triumphant  majority  stoutly  held,  that  neither 
the  creed  itself  was  scriptural,  nor  the  use  of  it. 
Its  dogmas  were  not  known,  when  the  earlier 
scriptures  were  penned ;  and  not  until  many  cen- 
turies after  the  death  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  did 
theological  belief  and  conformity  to  opinion  become 
a  condition  of  discipleship,  or  of  enjoyment  of 
Christian  ordinances. 

Once  again,  the  old  Church  stood  out  in  splendid 
isolation,  and  beneath  an  open  sky,  without  any 
ecclesiastical  affiliation  or  dogmatic  bonds.  Its 
faith  was  as  great  as  ever,  its  teachings  were  unim- 
paired, its  ordinances  were  intact,  its  work  was  un- 
restricted, and  its  first  principles  were  in  the  way  of 
fulfilment.  It  was  still  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  the 
Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  pure  shrine  to  which  the 
children  of  the  ancient  fathers  gathered  for  worship. 

That  the  controversy  ended  as  it  did,  was  due  in 
large  measure,  to  the  tact,  urbanity,  and  refinement 
of  Dr.  Kendall.  He  was  by  nature  and  habit,  free 
from  the  passions  and  prejudices  which  heat  and 
disturb  less  finely  tempered  minds.  Strength  and 
sweetness  were  so  blended  in  his  character,  that  the 
tempests  of  the  soul,  in  which  other  men  delight, 
and  which  so  often  lift  them  from  their  feet,  left  him 
serene  and  firm.  The  passing  disturbance  soon  sub- 
sided, and  the  two  churches  settled  down  to  their 

[84] 


Back    to    the    Past 


separate  functions,  the  Church  of  the  Pilgrimage 
priding  itself  upon  its  lovaltv  to  Calvinistic  teaching, 
so  far  as  the  spirit  of  the  age  would  permit  it  to  do 
so ;  and  the  First  Church  adhering  to  the  principles 
of  non-subscription  to  creeds  and  articles,  and  open- 
ness to  more  scientific  knowledge  of  Scripture  and 
religious  philosophy,  in  accordance  with  the  true 
spirit  of  Protestantism  and  the  practice  of  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers ;  the  former  remaining  in  the  Congre- 
gationalist  body,  the  latter  becoming  more  liberal, 
and  finally  joining  the  Unitarian  movement,  which 
at  that  time,  differed  but  little  from  the  advanced 
wing  of  modern  Congregationalists. 

On  the  lo*  of  April  1831,  the  last  religious  ser- 
vice was  held  in  the  old  Meeting-House,  which  had 
stood  for  eighty-seven  years.  D'  Kendall  preached 
from  the  text  Haggai  II,  3.  "Who  is  left  among 
you  that  saw  this  house  in  her  first  glory  ?  And 
now  do  you  see  it?"  It  was  decided  to  take  the 
edifice  down,  and  to  build  another,  larger  and  more 
in  keeping  with  the  improved  taste,  and  broader  out- 
look of  the  times.  The  new  building  was  in  course 
of  construction  about  eight  months,  and  on  the  14'^ 
of  December  1 831,  was  dedicated  to  "  the  worship 
and   service  of   God."     The  opening  sermon   was 

preached  by  the  Rev  D"" 
The  Fourth  Meeting-  Kendall,  from  Ezra  VI  16. 
House  18 J I  "  And  the  children  of  Israel, 

the  priests  and  the  Levites, 
and  the  rest  of  the  children  of  the  captivity,  kept 
the  dedication  of  this  house  of  God  with  joy."    The 

[85] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

sermon  dealt  among  other  things  with  the  unique 
catholicity"  of  John  Robinson  and  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  and  with  the  desire  of  their  heirs  to  per- 
petuate the  same  liberality  and  freedom  from  re- 
ligious persecution.  "  May  these  sacred  walls " 
said  he,  "  never  reverberate  with  licentious  opinions, 
the  shouts  of  fanaticism,  nor  the  denunciations  of 
bigotry."  The  new  building  was  a  handsome  and 
commodious  structure,  for  the  place  and  the  time, 
and  like  the  one  which  preceded  it,  was  the  gather- 
ing-place of  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims,  who  met 
on  different  occasions,  to  express  their  veneration 
for  the  forefathers.  Its  walls  echoed  to  the  voices 
of  many  famous  men,  who  continued  to  do  honour 
to  the  founders  of  the  republic,  on  the  spot  which 
their  fame  had  glorified ;  and  among  the  regular  at- 
tendants at  the  services  there,  were  many  families 
claiming  direct  descent  from  the  Pilgrims. 

The  church  maintained  its  ancient  ordinances,  and 
continued  to  participate  in  the  ordination  and 
installation  of  ministers  of  other  Congregational 
churches.  Narrow  restrictions  were  removed  from 
the  administration  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, in  which  Christians  of  any  name  or  creed  were 
permitted  to  participate.  As  early  as  1804,  Bap- 
tists, Congregationalists,  and  Episcopalians,  partook 
of  communion  in  the  Church.  The  Records  relate 
that  on  the  12*  of  October  1804,  Joanna  Winslow 
and  Mary  Warren,  Episcopalians  of  Scituate,  sought 
permission  to  join  in  the  communion  of  the  First 
Church,  and  their  request  v/as  cordiallv  received 
and  granted. 

[86] 


i 


Back    to    the    Past 


On  the  15*  of  June  1837,  a  meeting  of  the 
parish  was  held,  to  consider  the  best  means  of  further 
promoting  the  prosperity  of  the  church,  and  it  was 
voted  unanimously  to  adopt  the  following  profession 
and  declaration,  "  Believing  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  to  contain  the  word  of  God, 
and  to  be  the  only  and  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  ;  it  is  my  (or  our)  sincere  desire  and  purpose 
of  heart,  in  professing  this  belief,  in  joining  this 
church,  and  partaking  of  the  ordinances  of  the 
Gospel,  by  the  aid  of  his  grace  —  to  live  by  the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  thus  to  walk  in  all  his 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord,  blame- 
less." It  was  made  optional  with  the  applicant,  to 
manifest  his  or  her  assent  to  this  profession,  either 
in  public,  or  to  the  pastor,  in  private,  and  by  so 
doing,  the  person  was  received,  and  declared  to  be, 
a  member  in  full  communion  with  the  church. 
"  This  form  being  so  much  in  harmony  with  the 
simplicity  that  was  in  Christ,  and  so  conformable  to 
the  primitive  practice  of  the  church,  it  is  hoped  and 
believed  will  tend  to  remove  from  the  minds  of 
sincere  and  devout  persons,  every  reasonable  objection 
against  joining  the  church,  and  availing  themselves 
of  the  satisfaction  and  benefit  of  enjoying  the 
Christian  ordinances.  May  this  harmonious  pro- 
ceeding of  the  brethren,  be  followed  by  the  favour 
and  blessing  of  the  great  head  of  the  Church,  and 
result  in  the  prosperity  of  our  spiritual  Zion."  * 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  liberal  attitude  of 

*  Records  of  the  First  Church. 


[87] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

the  church  would  lay  it  open  to  some  popular  mis- 
representation. The  denial  of  Calvinistic  theology 
was  equivalent  in  the  minds  of  illiterate  persons,  to 
the  rejection  of  Scripture,  and  all  the  more  so,  after 
the  society  had  formally  affiliated  itself  with  the 
Unitarians,  although  D""  Channing  and  the  leaders 
of  the  Unitarian  movement  regarded  the  dogmas  of 
the  trinity,  man's  natural  depravity,  and  atonement 
by  blood,  not  only  as  unreasonable  in  themselves, 
but  unscriptural.  The  point  upon  which  the  early 
Unitarians  were  wont  to  lay  stress  was  the  un-- 
scriptural  character  of  the  dogmas,  against  which 
they  protested.  The  time  had  not  yet  come,  when 
they  were  to  take  other  and  broader  ground,  and  to 
maintain,  that  doctrines  which  were  intrinsically  and 
logically  unbelievable  were  not  to  be  accepted, 
whether  in  the  Bible  or  out  of  it.  For  the  moment, 
they  were  willing  to  use  the  weapons  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  to  contend  for  the  Scriptural  basis  of 
their  beliefs.  They  were  met  with  persistent  mis- 
understanding and  abuse  from  people,  who  would 
not,  or  could  not  see,  that  the  issues  at  stake  were 
to  be  settled  by  learning  and  fair  judgment,  and  not 
by  passion  and  prejudice,  and  that  a  man  might 
believe  or  deny  dogmas  without  being  morally  the 
better  or  the  worse.  Speculative  opinions  were 
impersonal  things,  and  he  might  be  a  good  Trini- 
tarian, or  a  good  Unitarian,  without  in  any  degree 
gaining  or  losing  caste  as  a  Christian.  There  was 
no  moral  merit  in  affirmation,  and  no  culpability  in 
denial.  The  questions  at  issue  between  the  churches 

[88] 


Back    to    the    Past 


were  to  be  settled  by  critics  and  scholars,  and  not 
by  appeals  to  ignorant  zeal  and  prejudice. 

There  were  good  Christians  in  the  world,  and  in 
the  church,  long  before  dogmas  were  promulgated, 
or  creeds  were  invented.  The  old  First  Church 
was  pledged  by  its  history  to  this  truth,  and  was 
among  the  earliest  communities  to  recognize  the 
fact,  which  is  fast  becoming  a  simple  truism,  that 
Christianity  is  a  type  of  life,  and  not  a  collection  of 
opinions :  discipleship  to  the  great  master  of  the  art 
of  living,  and  not  scholarship  in  a  theological 
academy.  It  is  a  temper  and  disposition  of  the 
mind  and  heart,  which  may  exist  under  this  doctrine 
or  that,  under  one  name  or  another.  There  is  some 
portion  of  it  in  every  church,  and  no  church  con- 
tains the  whole  of  it  —  a  beautiful  truth  which  is 
doing  so  much  to  efface  the  lines  between  the  sects, 
and  to  bring  people  together,  who  despite  their 
inevitable  differences  of  belief,  ought  to  live  in  one 
fold,  and  under  one  shepherd. 

No  one  was  better  able  to  illustrate  and  champion 
this  return  to  the  primitive  simplicity  and  inclusive- 
ness  of  the  First  Church,  at  the  opening  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  than  D'  Kendall.  He  was  a  man 
of  generous  and  dispassionate  judgment,  of  inflexible 
integrity,  of  gentle  and  kindly  affections.  His  very 
presence  rebuked  passion  and  disarmed  prejudice, 
and  opponents  might  challenge  his  opinions,  but 
could  not  dispute  his  Christian  character.  His 
preaching  and  pastoral  work  won  for  him  the  es- 
teem and  love  of  his  own  people,  and  of  others  not 

[89] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

of  that  fold.  He  became  identified  with  the  best  Vik 
of  the  town,  and  endeared  himself  to  citizens  gener- 
ally, by  his  readiness  to  serve  them  in  any  capacity 
within  his  power. 

After  he  had  been  pastor  for  thirty-eight  years, 
the  congregation,  with  that  kindness  and  courtesy 
which  always  marked  the  treatment  of  its  minis- 
ters, persuaded  him  to  accept  the  aid  of  an  associate 
pastor.  The  Rev  George  W.  Briggs,  of  Fall  River, 
a  graduate  of  Brown  University,  and  a  young  minis- 
ter of  great  promise,  was  invited  to  take  this  posi- 
tion. He  accepted  the  call,  and 
George  W.  Briggs  was  installed  on  the  24'^  of 
18 j8  M^-y  1838.     The  appointment 

was  satisfactory,  since  there  was 
very  much  in  common  between  the  two  ministers. 
For  fifteen  years,  they  worked  together  in  brotherly 
harmony,  the  elder  always  giving  his  full  sympathy 
and  support  to  the  younger,  and  the  latter  regarding 
his  senior  with  something  like  filial  respect  and  affec- 
tion. "  I  look  back  through  all  those  years  "  said 
D'  Briggs,  in  1859,  "to  find  my  memory  thronged 
with  precious  and  beautiful  remembrances  of  un- 
varying kindness.  I  can  recall  no  word  or  look ;  I 
do  not  believe  that  he  could  recall  a  thought,  which 
was  not  worthy  of  a  father's  love  towards  an  unduly 
valued  child.  I  relied  upon  his  loving  interest  as 
upon  the  daily  sunlight.  In  that  relation,  at  least, 
he  seemed  incapable  of  a  selfish  or  jealous  thought. 
He  turned  the  hearts  of  his  people  toward  me,  and 
never  held  them  back."  *     In   1853,0''  Briggs   re- 

*  Sermon  o    Dr  Kendall,  March  20th,  1859. 
[90] 


Back    to    the    Past 


signed  his  pastorate  to  take  charge  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Society  in  Salem.  His  resignation  was 
accepted  with  deep  regret  by  the  parish,  which  em- 
bodied its  feeling  in  a  resolution  containing  the  fol- 
lowing words  "  We  shall  ever  cherish  a  grateful 
recollection  of  the  harmonious  relations  which  have 
existed  between  yourself  and  the  parish  for  fifteen 
years,  and  our  best  wishes  and  prayers  attend  you  in 
your  new  field." 

The  effort  to  find  a  suitable  successor  to  D' 
Briggs  was  not  an  easy  matter.  M""  Henry  S. 
Myrick,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  was  appointed  May 
the  19^  1853,  but  the  connection  was  dissolved 
April  8'^  1855.  The  Rev.  G.  S.  Ball  was  installed 
on  March  i"  1856,  but  his  relation  with  the  parish 
ceased  in  April  1857. 

At  last,  the  Church  was  fortunate  enough  to 
secure  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Edward  H.  Hall, 
son  of  Rev.  E.  B.  Hall  D.D.  of  Providence,  and 
a  graduate  of  Harvard.  He  accepted  the  call  in 
December  1858,  and  was  duly  installed. 

His  ministry  opened  at  a  time 
Edward  H.  Hall  when  the  anti-slavery  forces 
18^8  were  gathering  for  battle.     The 

war  of  words  which  had  pro- 
ceeded with  increasing  bitterness  for  some  years 
was  about  to  ripen  into  a  momentous  conflict. 
Lincoln  and  Douglas  were  champions  in  opposite 
camps,  and  their  debates,  which  were  both  numer- 
ous and  ably  conducted,  prepared  the  way  for  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  issues  which  were  being 

[91] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

forced  upon  the  country.  "  There  is  no  way  "  said 
Lincoln  "  of  putting  an  end  to  the  slavery  agitation 
amongst  us,  but  to  put  it  back  upon  the  basis 
where  our  fathers  placed  it, —  no  way  but  to  keep 
it  out  of  our  new  territories  —  to  restrict  it  forever 
to  the  old  States  where  it  now  exists.  Then  the 
public  mind  will  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the 
course  of  ultimate  extinction."  *  The  other  way 
was  to  recognize  slavery  as  part  of  the  economic 
and  industrial  order,  to  allow  it  to  remain  where  it 
was,  and  to  prevent  its  extension  over  other  States. 

In  the  midst  of  this  agitation,  the  venerable  pas- 
tor who  for  nearly  sixty  years  had  been  a  tower  of 
strength  to  the  church,  and  had  gone  in  and  out 
among  his  people  as  a  beloved  friend  and  helper,  was 
called  to  his  rest.  He  died  on  the  17*  of  March 
1859,  in  the  90'^  year  of  his  age.  During  twenty- 
one  years  of  his  ministry,  there  had  been  several 
associate  pastors,  but  he  preached  occasionally,  until 
the  last  year  of  his  life,  and  preserved  unimpaired 
the  confidence  and  affection,  which  had  sustained 
him  through  an  exceptionally  long  and  pleasant 
pastorate.  "  The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the 
Church,  on  the  afternoon  of  Sunday  the  2.0*,  and 
all  the  churches  and  places  of  business  of  the  town 
were  closed,  in  token  of  the  general  feeling  of  re- 
spect and  affection  throughout  the  community."  t 

National  events  were  moving  with  great  rapidity, 
and  converging  to  a  crisis;  and  when  in  April  1862, 

*  Lincoln-Douglas  Debates,  page  155. 
t  Records  of  the  First  Church. 

[9-] 


Back    to    the    Past 


in  consequence  of  the  open  Rebellion  ot  the  Southern 
States  against  the  United  States  Government,  lovers 
of  union  and  liberty  gathered  around  the  national 
flag,  the  First  Church  and  its  minister,  were  as  loyal 
as  their  predecessors  had  been  in  Revolutionary  times. 
Minister  and  people  threw  themselves  heartily  into 
the  conflict.  On  the  a8"^  of  August  1862,  M^ 
Hall  announced  that  he  had  been  elected  Chaplain 
of  the  44*  Regiment  of  Massachusetts  Volunteers, 
and  had  resolved  to  accept  the  appointment.  "  At 
this  time,"  he  wrote,  "  when  all  our  duties  lie  in  one 
direction,  and  when  each  one  is  called  upon  to  render 
what  service  he  is  able,  to  the  great  cause,  I  feel  sure 
that  you  will  approve  of  my  decision  to  accept  the 
place." 

An  informal  meeting  of  the  Parish  was  held  at 
the  church,  on  the  31^^  of  August,  and  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously  :  — 

"  That  it  gives  us  sincere  regret,  that  the  minis- 
terial relations  of  our  pastor  with  this  people  are  dis- 
turbed, and  that  we  are  to  lose  the  ministrations  of 
one  so  able,  devoted,  and  affectionate,  and  whose 
labours  have  for  us,  been  so  valuable  and  inter- 
esting. 

That  we  appreciate  the  motives,  and  respect  the 
convictions  of  duty,  which  prompt  him  to  devote 
his  strength  and  best  efforts  to  the  sacred  cause  of 
our  country,  at   this  season  of  affliction  and  peril. 

That  it  is  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  Parish,  that 
the  pastoral  relations  of  M""  Hall  with  the  people 
shall  remain  unbroken ;  and  that  the  Parish  Com- 


[93] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

mittee  be  instructed  to  request  him  to  withdraw  his 
resignation,  and  to  offer  him  leave  of  absence  for 
nine  months." 

The  resignation  was  withdrawn,  and  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  supply  of  the  pulpit,  during  the 
absence  of  the  minister.  Throughout  six  months 
of  this  absence  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  the  Rev: 
Charles  W.  Buck. 

In  answer  to  the  call  of  duty,  the  pews  were  in 
no  respect  behind  the  pulpit.  Then,  and  afterwards, 
quite  a  number  of  the  young  men  of  the  church, 
volunteered  to  serve  their  country  in  the  war, 
and    upheld    the     traditions    of    the    community. 

On  June  the  28*  1 863,  the  pastor  resumed  his  con- 
nection with  the  church,  and  received  an  enthusiastic 
welcome  from  his  parishioners  and  friends. 

It  Vv^ill  be  remembered,  that  at  different  periods 
in  the  history  of  the  church,  attempts  were  made  to 
modify  the  original  covenant,  to  meet  the  fluctua- 
tions of  changing  opinion.  Not  one  of  the  changes 
made,  was  in  any  respect  an  improvement  upon  the 
original,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the 
liberality  and  foresight  of  the  ancient  fathers,  that 
more  than  250  years  after  the  first  covenant  was 
formed,  the  church  should  hark  back  to  it,  as  to  the 
ideal  bond  of  Christian  fellowship.  A  church 
meeting  was  held,  to  consider  this  matter,  on  Sunday 
Dec:  20*  1863,  and  it  was  unanimously  resolved, 
to  go  back  to  the  primitive  covenant  of  the  church, 
{vide  Church  Records  Vol.  I  page  4). 

It  may  be  worth  while  to   notice  at  this  point, 

[94] 


Back    to    the    Past 


the  slow  and  imperceptible  change,  which  at  this 
time  was  creeping  over  the  churches,  in  no  way- 
affecting  the  fundamental  principles  of  Congrega- 
tionalism, but  tending  more  and  more  to  make 
membership  a  simple  question  of  owning  or  renting 
pews.  The  ruling  elder  and  his  authority  had  long 
since  ceased  to  be.  Deacons  were  rapidly  giving 
way  to  parish  committees.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper,  the  observance  of  which  was  once  so  indis- 
pensable to  communion,  and  the  neglect  of  which 
was  accompanied  with  reproofs  and  penalties,  had 
become  optional,  like  attendance  at  public  worship. 
The  era  of  ecclesiastical  authority  in  Congregation- 
alism was  drawing  to  a  close.  The  churches  were 
in  the  way  of  becoming  democratic  corporations 
consisting  of  groups  of  people,  with  little  in  com- 
mon as  to  religious  belief,  and  owning  pews  or  sit- 
tings, which  might  be  occupied  by  the  proprietors 
themselves,  or  rented  to  others,  and  which  were 
sometimes  owned  bv  absentees  who  had  become 
members  of  other  churches,  or  had  given  up  going 
to  church  altogether,  but  apparently  enjoyed  the 
right  to  a  voice  and  a  vote  in  the  affairs  of  a  church, 
in  which  they  had  ceased  to  have  any  other  interest. 
Congregationalism  was  making  its  appeal  to  the  re- 
ligious instincts  of  its  adherents,  to  the  honour  and 
enthusiasm  of  its  people,  and  was  willing  to  do  so, 
despite  the  fact  that  its  principles  were  liable  in  the 
hands  of  non-religious  men  to  misuse  and  abuse. 

The  First  Church  harmonized  the  largest  liberty 
with  the  warmest  religious  enthusiasm,  and  its  affairs 

[95] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

continued,  as  of  old,  to  be  directed  by  men  who  re- 
mained in  its  fellowship,  and  attended  its  services, 
because  they  enjoyed  its  religious  privileges,  for 
themselves   and  their   families. 

On  Saturday  June  i^'  1867  the  Rev:  E.  H.  Hall 
resigned  the  pulpit,  and  shortly  after  settled  in 
Worcester.  His  resignation  was  accepted  with  sin- 
cere expressions  of  regret. 

In  October  1869,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev: 
Frederick  N.  Knapp,  who  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1843,  ^^  enter  the  Divinity  School,  and 

afterwards  settled  at  Brook- 
Frederick  N.  Knapp  Hne.  He  left  Brookline  in 
1860  '^'^SS->    ^^^    account    of    ill- 

health.  On  the  21''  of  July 
1 861,  he  joined  the  Sanitary  Commission,  becom- 
ing Assistant  Secretary  to  the  Eastern  Division,  and 
Superintendent  of  the  Special  Relief  Department. 
"  He  was  the  personal  friend  of  General  Grant  and 
President  Lincoln,  and  when  Grant  visited  Plym- 
outh, he  made  M'  Knapp's  house  his  stopping-place. 
While  in  the  Sanitary  Commission,  fifty  thousand 
wounded  and  sick  soldiers  passed  through  his  hands, 
and  received  aid  from  him.  After  the  war,  he  de- 
voted a  year  to  writing  a  history  of  the  Special  Re- 
lief Department  of  the  Commission,  and  its  war 
work.  In  1866,  he  became  principal  of  a  military 
School  at  Eagleswood,  N.J."  *  His  ministry  in 
Plymouth  afforded  scope  for  his  scholarly  attain- 
ments, and  for  the  manifestation  of  a  generous  and 

*In  Memoriam  Frederick  N.  Knapp  i88g. 
[96] 


Back    to    the    Past 


kindly  disposition.  His  experience  on  the  Sanitary- 
Commission  had  brought  him  into  close  touch  with 
suffering  in  all  its  forms,  and  gave  to  his  work  in  a 
country  parish,  a  wide  range  ot  personal  sympathy 
and  tender  helpfulness.  He  was  accessible  to  every- 
body needing  friendly  counsel  or  help,  regardless  of 
church  or  creed.  Nature  had  endowed  him  with  a 
bright,  cheerful,  happy  disposition,  which  became 
contagious  wherever  he  moved.  He  never  ceased 
to  think  and  act  for  others,  and  countless  deeds  of 
thoughtful  kindness  still  serve  to  keep  his  memorv 
fresh  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  loved  him.  His 
Christianity  was  not  confined  to  the  pulpit,  or  to 
pastoral  cares,  but  pervaded  his  social  duties,  and  the 
obligations  of  citizenship.  There  was  no  institution 
in  the  town,  educational,  philanthropic,  social,  in 
which  he  did  not  feel  a  close  personal  interest.  He 
was  strongly  identified  with  the  education  of  the 
young,  and  during  the  five  years  of  his  ministry, 
and  until  his  death  in  1889,  he  conducted  a  success- 
ful school  for  boys.  He  was  also  Chairman  of  the 
School  Committee  for  several  years.  The  Grand 
Army  departed  from  its  usual  custom  in  his  case, 
and  conferred  upon  him  the  unique  distinction  of 
being  the  only  honorary  member  in  the  country. 

His  position  as  pastor  of  the  First  Church  was 
relinquished  in  October  1874,  but  he  retained  a 
warm  affection  for  the  church,  and  attended  its 
ministrations  to  the  close  of  his  life.  His  death 
came  suddenly  on  January  ii^*"  1889,  in  his  sixty- 
eighth  year.     He  died  as  he  had   lived,  cheerfully, 

[97] 


The    First   Church   in    Plymouth 

peacefully,  hopefully,  leaving  behind  him  a  wife, 
who  shared  his  spirit,  and  supported  him  loyally,  in 
all  his  varied  labors,  and  a  family  of  children,  who 
cherish  their  father's  memory  as  a  rich  inheritance. 
On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  factories  shut  down,  the 
public  schools  were  dismissed  at  an  early  hour,  at 
eleven  o'clock  all  places  of  business  were  closed,  and 
the  church  bells  tolled.  There  was  a  private  ser- 
vice at  the  home,  conducted  by  his  friends  the  Rev^ 
C.  P.  Lombard,  R.  N.  Bellows,  of  Walpole,  and 
George  W.  Briggs  D.D.  of  Cambridge.  This  was 
followed  by  a  service  in  the  Church,  which  was  at- 
tended by  a  throng  of  personal  friends,  and  repre- 
sentatives of  the  various  military  and  benevolent 
associations,  and  conducted  by  the  Rev^  C.  P.  Lom- 
bard, C.  Y.  De  Normandie,  George  E.  Ellis  D.D., 
Thomas  Hill  D.D.,  and  George  W.  Briggs  D.D. 
Such  tributes  of  popular  esteem  had  not  been  given 
to  any  minister  in  the  town,  since  the  death  of  the 
venerable  D""  Kendall,  who  like  M""  Knapp,  was 
everybody's  friend. 

On  the  22""^  of  June  1878,  M""  E.  Q.  S.  Osgood 
was  invited  to  take  charge  of  the  parish.     He  was 

then  a  student  at  the  Divinity 
E.  ^  S.  Osgood  School,  Cambridge.  On  the  11'^ 
1878  of  July,  he  accepted  the  call,  and 

was  ordained  on  the  10*  of  Octo- 
ber following.  He  brought  to  his  work  the  fresh- 
ness and  enthusiasm  of  early  manhood,  and  de- 
voted himself  assiduously  to  the  Sunday  School,  and 
work  among  the  young  people.     Himself,  the  son 

[98] 


Back    to    the    Past 


of  a  clergyman,  the  venerable  D"^  Osgood,  of  Co- 
hasset,  he  was  not  unacquainted  with  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  a  minister's  life,  and  by  his  dili- 
gence and  benevolent  activity,  he  soon  won  for 
himself,  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  people. 
The  women  of  the  church,  always  loyal  and  faithful 
friends  of  the  ministers,  were  among  his  willing  and 
energetic  supporters.  At  a  Fair,  held  in  the  month 
of  August  1879,  they  raised  $1000  for  the  benefit 
of  the  parish.  In  1880,  M''  Osgood's  health  de- 
clined, and  that  made  rest  and  change  essential  to 
the  further  continuance  of  his  labours,  and  in  April 

1 88 1,  leave  of  absence  was  given  to  him,  and  he 
went  to  Europe  as  tutor  of  a  private  pupil,  and 
with  the  sincere  good  wishes  of  his  parishioners. 

During  the  minister's  absence,  the  Rev:  John  H. 
Heywood,  formerly  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  occu- 
pied the  pulpit  and  discharged  pastoral  duties,  in 
such  a  way,  as  to  make  his  services  memorable  to 
the  church,  and  the  community. 

M'  Osgood  returned  to  Plymouth  in  September 

1882,  and  resumed  his  duties. 

In  the  Spring  of  1885,  a  branch  of  the  Women's 
Auxiliary  Conference  was  established  in  the  church, 
for  the  purpose  of  elevating  and  strengthening  the 
interest  of  women  in  parish  work,  and  in  mission- 
ary enterprise.  Committees  were  formed  for  the 
study  of  the  Liberal  Faith,  for  the  development 
of  intellectual  interest  in  its  beliefs  and  history, 
and  for  the  cultivation  of  social  and  philanthropic 
activities. 


[99] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

The  Rev  M'  Osgood  closed  his  pastorate  Octo- 
ber ii"**  1885,  and  from  that  time  until  April  1887, 
the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  various  ministers,  with- 
out regular  settlement. 

On  the  18'^  of  January  1888,  the  Hon.  Arthur 
Lord,  chairman  of  the  Parish  Committee,  com- 
municated the  desire  of  the  congregation,  to  the 
Rev:  Charles  P.  Lombard  minister  of  the  Second 
Congregational  Society,  at  Athol,  Mass :  that  he 
should  become  their  minister,  for  three  years.  The 
call  was  accepted,  and  M'  Lombard  entered  upon 
his  duties  on  April  i^'  1888.  He  commended  him- 
self to  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the  church, 

and  on  the  21^'  of  November 
Charles  P  Lombard  1890,  at  the  Annual  Parish 
1888  Meeting,  he  was  confirmed  in 

his  office  as  settled  minister 
of  the  church.  He  laboured  faithfully  and  earnestly 
for  the  good  of  the  parish  and  community,  and  by  his 
courtesy  and  good-will,  did  much  towards  develop- 
ing friendly  relations  between  the  various  religious 
bodies  in  the  town,  encouraging  closer  intercourse 
where  that  was  possible,  and  exchange  of  hospitality. 
Union  Thanksgiving  Services  were  established 
among  the  Protestant  sects,  and  sometimes  union 
services  were  held  for  the  development  of  a  stronger, 
and  more  enthusiastic  religious  life,  in  the  whole 
community. 

In  the  summer  of  1892,  the  second  session  of  the 
school  of  Applied  Ethics  was  held  in  the  town,  and 
the  following  clergymen  and  laymen  delivered  ser- 

[100] 


Back    to    the    Past 


mons  or  addresses,  in  the  church,  on  Sundays, —  July 
17"',  Professor  C.  H.  Toy,  of  Cambridge;  the  24''^, 
NP  Bernard  Bosanquet,  of  London  ;  August  7''',  Rev. 
W.  H.  Johnson,  of  Wihnington ;  the  14"',  D' 
Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Jewish  Rabbi,  of  Chicago.  The 
church  which  had  stood  for  about  sixty  years,  was 
very  much  in  need  of  repairs,  and  the  sum  of  $2,500 
was  raised  for  that  purpose,  and  the  w^ork  was  begun 
in  September.  When  it  was  nearly  finished,  and 
the  church  was  almost  ready  for  the  re-opening 
services,  the  fine  old  building  took  fire,  and  was 
burned  to  the  ground,  on  Tuesday  evening,  Nov- 
ember the  22°^  1892.  There  was  universal  sympathy 
with  the  parish,  not  merely  in  the  town,  and  imme- 
diate neighbourhood,  but  throughout  New  England. 
Not  only  was  a  familiar  landmark  removed,  but  a 
church  home  had  gone,  around  which  many  historic 
associations  clustered,  and  in  which,  many  per- 
sonal and  family  memories  were  centred.  From 
its  impressive  tower,  the  old  Paul  Revere  bell  had 
daily  recorded  the  flying  hours.  Within  its  walls 
the  voices  of  statesmen,  poets,  preachers,  men  of 
letters  had  been  heard,  men,  who  on  special  occa- 
sions, such  as  forefathers  day,  had  delivered  speeches 
and  orations,  in  commemoration  of  historic  events, 
of  more  than  local  interest.  It  was,  moreover,  the 
shrine  of  Pilgrim  history,  to  which  the  faithful  of 
our  own  land,  and  sympathetic  visitors  from  abroad, 
gathered  to  do  reverence  to  the  only  existing  symbol 
of  a  great  historic  past.  The  ground  on  which  it 
stood,  was  hallowed  by  the  prayers  of  many  genera- 

[lOl] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

tions,  sanctified  by  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  more 
than  two  centuries  of  worshippers.  The  old  church 
was  thus  like  a  sentinel  standing  day  and  night  at 
the  foot  of  Burial  Hill,  to  guard  the  honoured  dust 
of  the  forefathers. 


[lOZ] 


CHAPTER   X. 

Liberty  and  Progress. 

WHEN  the  first  shock  of  surprise  and 
sorrow  had  passed,  the  congregation 
quickly  determined  that  the  fifth  edifice 
should  soon  be  reared,  to  perpetuate  Pilgrim  history. 
A  voice  came  to  them  from  the  past,  speaking  in 
language  their  hearts  well  understood, 

"  If,  as  some  have  done 
Ye  grope  tear-blinded  in  a  desert  place, 
And  touch  but  tombs  —  look  up  !     Those  tears  will  run 
Soon  in  long  rivers  down  the  lifted  face, 
And  leave  the  vision  clear  for  stars  and  sun." 

In  the  meantime,  the  churches  of  different  denom- 
inations —  Universalist,  Baptist,  Congregationalist, 
Methodist  —  kindly  offered  the  temporary  use  of 
their  edifices,  to  the  homeless  parish.  The  first 
service,  after  the  fire,  was  held  in  the  Universalist 
Church,  on  the  afternoon  of  Sunday  December  the 
4'^  On  the  19''',  a  parish  meeting  was  held  in 
Standish  Hall,  and  the  first  five  thousand  dollars 
was  subscribed,  towards  the  building  of  a  new 
church.  The  movement  was  taken  up  with  en- 
thusiasm, by  young  and  old,  and  every  society  in 
the  parish  applied  all  its  resources,  towards  acquiring 
funds  for  the  erection  of  a  new  house.  The  whole 
church  was  dominated  by  one  purpose,  that  of  rais- 
ing enough  money  to  rear  an  edifice  of  stone,  strong 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

and  durable,  a  fitting  temple  for  the  liberal  faith, 
and  an  enduring  monument  to  the  ancient  fathers, 
and  the  brave  days  of  old. 

On  the  19*  of  June  1893,  ^  parish  meeting  was 
held,  to  consider  plans  of  the  proposed  new  church. 
After  several  meetings,  and  much  discussion,  it  was 
decided  to  accept  those  of  Mess'^  Hartwell,  Rich- 
ardson, and  Driver,  of  Boston.  The  architecture 
is  of  the  English-Norman  type,  and  bears  some 
resemblance  to  the  ancient  church  at  Scrooby.  At 
its  front  is  a  central  tower,  the  entrance  to  Vv^hich  is 
through  a  series  of  receding  arches,  leading  to  a 
memorial  vestibule,  in  which  will  be  placed  windows 
and. tablets.  The  tower  contains  a  belfry,  in  which 
the  town  bell  cast  by  Paul  Revere  in  1 801,  is  placed, 
and  which  hung  in  the  old  church,  ringing  the  nine 
o'clock  curfew  for  three  generations,  and  on  the  night 
of  the  fire,  sounding  the  alarm,  just  before  it  fell 
among  the  burning  ruins.  The  main  edifice  is  built 
of  seam-faced  granite,  with  Ohio  sandstone  trim- 
mings. In  the  lower  part  of  the  building,  under  the 
church,  are  a  vestry  and  Sunday  School.  A  memo- 
rial window  was  presented  by  the  Society  of  May- 
flower descendants  of  New  York,  to  be  placed  in 
the  chancel  of  the  church,  representing  the  "  Sign- 
ing of  the  Compact  "  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower ; 
and  later  on,  another  memorial  window  was  placed 
in  the  north  end,  by  a  sister  of  M"^  Edward  G. 
Walker,  representing  "  John  Robinson  delivering 
his  farewell  address  to  the  departing  pilgrims," — 
appropriate  and   handsome  memorials.     The   New 

[104] 


I.ibertv    and    Proerress 


England  Society,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  gave 
its  cordial  support  to  the  movement.  The  Hon: 
Elihu  Root,  the  president,  in  his  address  Decem- 
ber 22"'^  1894,  said  "We  have  set  our  hands  to 
another  and  somewhat  different  work,  somewhat 
graver  in  its  responsibility  and  more  lasting  in  its 
results,  than  words  which  vanish  into  air.  As  you 
all  know,  in  the  winter  before  the  last,  the  First 
Church  in  Plymouth  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the 
church  of  the  first  congregation  in  New  England, 
of  the  Society  which  was  organized  in  Holland,  and 
gathered  in  the  cabin  of  the  "  Mayflower,"  and 
with  prayer  and  faith  endured  the  hardships  of  that 
first  cold  long  winter  —  the  church  of  Brewster, 
and  Bradford,  and  Winslow  and  Carver.  A  new 
building  is  to  be  erected.  It  will  stand  where  the 
old  one  stood,  on  the  slope  of  Burial  Hill.  Faith- 
ful sons  of  New  England  have  resolved,  that  the 
new  edifice  shall  be  a  fitting  memorial,  of  the  noble 
hearts,  and  great  events,  for  which  it  will  stand ; 
that  it  shall  be  shaped  by  that  perfect  art,  which 
best  comports  with  grave  simplicity,  and  that  it 
shall  express,  in  form  more  enduring  than  the 
words  of  countless  banquets,  the  fidelity  of  the 
sons  of  the  Pilgrims  to  the  memory  of  their  fathers. 
This  Society  in  its  annual  meeting  has  authorized 
its  President  to  appoint  a  Committee  to  take  charge 
of  our  part  of  this  labour  of  affection  and  venera- 
tion, and  I  now  announce  the  members  of  that 
Committee :  Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  J.  Pierpont  Mor- 
gan, Joseph  H.  Choate,  Horace  Russell,  and  the 
President." 

[105] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

The  Building  Committee  held  large  views  of  the 
proposed  structure,  and  resolved  that  the  memorial, 
about  to  be  reared,  should  be  in  keeping  with  the 
noble  history  and  traditions  of  the  Church,  even  if 
it  had  to  be  built  by  slow  degrees.  They  ventured 
upon  a  great  trust,  and  as  it  happened  nobly.  The 
Hon:  Arthur  Lord,  M""-  William  S.  Kyle,  and  M" 
F.  B.  Davis  attended  a  meeting  of  the  National  Con- 
ference of  Unitarian  and  other  Christian  Churches 
held  in  Saratoga  September  1894,  and  presented  the 
claims  of  the  Plymouth  Church.  A  resolution  was 
adopted  at  the  Conference  commending  the  Church 
to  the  general  public,  and  appointing  a  Committee 
to  raise  funds. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was  laid  on 
Monday  June  29*  1896,  with  suitable  ceremonies, 
and  in  the  presence  of  a  throng  of  glad  and  grateful 
friends,  who  rejoiced  to  see  the  opening  fulfilment 
of  their  heart's  desire.  The  Hon:  Arthur  Lord, 
President  of  the  Pilgrim  Society,  and  chairman  of  the 
Parish  Committee,  commenced  the  proceedings  with 
an  address,  in  which  he  said :  — 

"  On  this  hill-side,  rich  in  memories,  associations 
and  history,  we  meet  today,  to  lay  the  corner  stone 
of  the  First  Church  in  Plymouth,  and  the  first 
church  in  America.  Behind  us,  rises  the  hill,  where 
rest  in  peace  the  dead  of  by-gone  generations ;  be- 
fore us  stretches,  the  first  street  of  the  Pilgrims, 
once  bordered  by  their  simple  dweUings,  once  echo- 
ing to  the  tread  of  their  weary  feet ;  and  beyond, 
lies  the  sea,  now  sparkling  in  the  sunlight  of  June, 

[106] 


Liberty   and    Progress 


but  whose  dark  waters  in  that  stormy  December 
reflects  the  white  sail  of  the  Mayflower.  All 
around  us  is  historic  ground.  It  witnessed  the 
humble  beginnings  of  a  great  people.  It  was  the 
cradle  of  a  mighty  nation ;  the  rude  yet  tender 
home  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  which,  elsewhere, 
seemed  but  a  scholar's  idle  dream. 

The  inestimable  privilege  of  such  environment 
comes  not  alone.  By  its  side,  there  ever  stands 
the  graver  forms  of  duty  and  responsibility,  and 
sometimes  in  their  silent  train,  there  comes  in  the 
lifetime  of  a  generation,  the  great  opportunity,  not 
bidden  perchance,  but  ever  welcomed.  Another 
generation,  three  quarters  of  a  century  ago,  entered 
upon  the  work  of  commemorating  the  great  events 
of  Pilgrim  History,  of  marking  and  adorning  the 
localities  peculiarly  interesting  to  every  American, 
of  collecting  and  preserving  each  memento  of  the 
Pilgrims,  which  the  hand  of  time  had  spared.  Mon- 
ument and  statue,  hall  and  rock,  attest  their  labours. 

To  this  generation,  came  the  duty  and  the  oppor- 
tunity to  erect  upon  the  ruins  of  the  old  church,  a 
memorial,  simple  yet  enduring,  to  the  religious  life 
of  its  founders,  the  last  and  best  of  the  great  me- 
morials to  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth.  Built  of  gran- 
ite from  the  rocky  hillsides  of  Massachusetts,  of 
stone  from  the  quarries  of  that  other  Massachusetts 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  it  is  no  less  firm  and 
enduring  than  they.  In  its  stately  tower  shall  hang 
the  bell  which  Revere  cast,  whose  tones,  as  in  other 
days,  again  will  mark  the  fleeting  hour,  will  call  to 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

duty,  and  will  sound  the  dread  alarm.  The  carved 
tablets  in  its  open  vestibule  shall  tell  the  Pilgrim 
name  and  story  to  the  thousands  as  they  pass.  The 
rays  of  the  setting  sun  falling  softly  through  its 
stained  windows,  shall  gild  with  a  new  radiance  the 
pictured  forms  and  faces  of  the  leaders  of  the  Pilgrim 
band. 

Of  such  a  memorial,  more  appropriate,  interest- 
ing, and  suggestive  than  any  other,  we  lay  the 
corner  stone.  Long  may  it  stand,  sustaining,  ele- 
vating, and  inspiring  the  life  and  thought  of  this 
community,  its  portals  ever  open  to  the  "  new  light 
yet  to  come."  Long  may  it  stand,  to  impress  upon 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  generations  yet  unborn, 
the  lesson  of  the  lives  and  labours  and  faith,  of  its 
Pilgrim  founders ;  those  lives  heroic,  those  labours 
triumphant,  that  faith  sublime,  which  lifted  them 
above  every  doubt,  sustained  them  in  every  peril, 
and  under  whose  benign  influence  the  sea  lost  its 
terrors,  the  wilderness  its  fears,  and  sickness  and 
death  could  not  their  souls  dismay."  This  address 
was  followed  by  a  speech  from  M'-  Edwin  D.  Mead, 
Editor  of  the  JSfew  England  Magazine,  and  after  the 
singing  of  a  hymn  the  Hon:  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
President  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society y  was 
introduced.  He  said,  among  other  things,  bearing 
upon  the  occasion  :  — 

"  We  are  so  accustomed  to  look  upon  all  things 
American,  as  new,  that  it  requires  some  forcible 
reminder,  such  as  this,  to  make  us  realize  what 
an    antiquity   has    gathered    upon  Plymouth.     Yet 

[io8] 


Liberty    and    Progress 


the  fact  is,  as  I  have  stated.  When  the  church, 
the  unbroken  succession  of  which  you  are,  first 
gathered  at  Scrooby,  and  again  at  Delfthaven  on 
the  deck  of  the  Speedwell,  of  the  two  most  widely 
read  books  in  all  English  Literature,  our  King 
James'  Bible,  had  been  only  nine  years  issued 
from  the  press,  while  the  other,  the  precious  first 
quarto  of  Shakespeare,  did  not  see  the  light  until 
three  years  later.  Of  this  Society,  therefore,  Amer- 
ican though  it  be,  it  may  truthfully  be  said,  that  it 
antedates  not  only  the  literature,  theology,  science, 
and  law,  of  the  modern  world,  but  it  has  outlived 
most  of  the  philosophies  and  dynasties,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  nationalities,  which  existed  at  its  birth. 
It  is  among  the  world-venerable  things.  When 
John  Robinson  addressed  his  farewell  discourse  to 
the  little  band  of  Pilgrims,  on  that  day  of  solemn 
humiliation  in  July  1620,  Kepler,  Galileo,  Bacon, 
Harvey,  Milton,  Descartes,  were  either  still  doing 
their  work,  or,  as  yet,  unheard  of  in  the  world ;  the 
house  of  Stuart  was  freshly  seated  on  the  English 
throne ;  Oliver  Cromwell,  a  youth  of  twenty-one, 
had  not  yet  undergone  his  change  of  heart ;  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus  had  won  no  name  in  arms  ;  Riche- 
lieu was  not  a  Cardinal,  nor  a  very  potter  at  his 
wheel,  had  he  begun  his  momentous  work  on 
plastic  France.  Poland  was  still  a  power,  and  the 
barrier  of  civilization  against  the  Turk.  We  re- 
gard that  famous  victory  won  by  Sobieski  under 
the  walls  of  Vienna,  which  marked  the  culmination 
and  decline  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  as  so  remote, 

[  109] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

that  it  seems  of  another  world  than  ours ;  yet  it 
happened  more  that  sixty  years  after  the  unnoticed 
Speedwell  weighed  its  anchor  at  Delfthaven ;  and 
John  Robinson  had  already  been  four  years  in  his 
grave,  before  Sobieski  was  born.  Thus,  as  I  have 
said,  this  church  has  seen  dynasties,  philosophies, 
theologies  and  nations,  decay  and  disappear,  and  yet 
others  rise  to  take  their  place. 

"  The  drift  of  the  maker  is  dark ;  an  Isis  hid  by  the  veil, 
Who  knows  the  ways  of  the  world,  how  God  will  bring 
them  about  ?  " 

These  names  I  have  mentioned,  are  names  great 
in  the  world's  annals ;  the  events,  I  have  referred 
to,  are  indisputably  memorable.  It  seems  strange 
to  compare  this  religious  society  —  a  simple  church 
in  a  provincial  Massachusetts  town  —  it  seems 
strange,  I  say,  to  weigh  the  formation  of  this  so- 
ciety in  the  scale  of  human  events,  against  such 
names  and  such  events,  as  I  have  recalled.  So 
doing  is  suggestive  of  exaggeration,  of  hyperbole, 
almost  of  bathos.  And  yet  in  truth,  as  a  factor  in 
human  events,  it  outweighs  that  among  them, 
which  is  to  be  reckoned  most  and  greatest.  When 
the  society  which  is  met  here  today,  first  gathered 
on  the  Speedwell's  narrow  deck,  its  great  mission 
was  to  bear  to  a  new  continent,  and  there  implant, 
the  germs  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  In  all 
seriousness  I  ask,  was  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea, 
by  the  children  of  Israel ;  was  the  founding  of 
Rome  by  Romulus  and  Remus :  was  the  crossing 

[no] 


Liberty   and    Progress 


of  the  Atlantic  by  Columbus,  was  any  one  of  these, 
a  human  event  more  pregnant  with  great  conse- 
quence ? 

Centuries  have  rolled  by  since  your  society  was 
organized.  Your  pastors  and  teachers  exhorted  you 
in  mid-Atlantic,  in  Provincetown,  and  in  yonder 
bay,  from  the  deck  of  the  Mayflower;  again  they 
preached  the  word  in  "  the  first  house  for  common 
use"  the  erection  of  which  was  begun  on  the  4*''  of 
January  1621  ;  again,  in  the  old  Fort,  with  the 
cannon  on  its  roof,  on  Burial  Hill;  again  in  the 
Meeting-House  of  1648,  from  which  a  bell  first 
here  knoll'd  to  church  ;  again,  in  the  second  house 
of  1683  ;  and,  yet  again,  in  the  third,  of  1744.  It 
is  an  honourable  succession  —  Brewster,  Reyner, 
Cotton,  Little,  Leonard,  Robbins,  Kendall,  Hall, 
Knapp,  Osgood,  and  Lombard  —  and  that  the  line 
will  long  stretch  out  admits  not  of  question  in  the 
mind  of  any  descendant  of  the  Pilgrims.  Here 
shall  the  church  edifice  stand,  and  here  let  it  con- 
tinue to  stand,  looking  out  at  that  distant  sea-line 
from  which  nearly  three  centuries  ago,  the  May- 
flower slowly  loomed  up  in  December,  and  under 
which  its  white  sails  as  slowly  disappeared  in  the 
following  April ;  but  whether  this,  the  fifth  and  most 
elaborate  of  its  edifices,  continues  to  shelter  the 
church,  or  in  turn  gives  way  to  another,  the  church 
itself  will,  like  the  poet's  brook,  go  on  forever ; 
and  so  long  as  it  goes  on,  it  will  stand  in  far  greater 
degree  than  any  other  association  in  the  land,  for 
those  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  which 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

it  was  its  mission  to  bring  to  America.  And  truly 
the  seed  it  has  sown  did  not  fall  by  the  way- 
side, nor  among  the  thorns,  nor  upon  stony  ground 
where  it  was  scorched,  nor  did  the  fowls  of  the  air 
come  and  devour  it;  but  it  fell  on  good  ground, 
and  did  yield  fruit  that  sprang  up  and  increased, 
not  thirty-fold,  nor  sixty,  nor  yet  a  hundred,  but  by 
the  thousand  and  myriad,  until  it  has  multiplied  and 
covered  the  land  as  with  a  mantle  of  snow." 

After  Prayer  by  the  Rev :  Charles  P.  Lombard, 
pastor  of  the  church,  a  hymn  was  sung,  and  the 
proceedings  came  to  an  end. 

The  first  service  in  the  New  Kendall  Hall  was 
held  on  April  25*''  1897,  and  Sunday  services  con- 
tinued to  be  held  there  until  the  dedication  of  the 
Church  on  Thursday  December  21'*  1899.     After 

several  years  of  patient  wait- 
The  Fifth  Meeting-  ing,  labour,  anxiety,  incessant 
House  l8gg  and    unremitting   activity,  in 

which  the  ojficers  of  the 
Church,  IVLess''^  Arthur  Lord,  William  S.  Kyle, 
W.  W.  Brewster  and  James  D.  Thurber,  and 
all  the  Committees  of  men  and  women  took 
part,  the  completed  church  building  was  in  im- 
mediate prospect.  D' Hale,  the  Hon:  John  D, 
Long,  and  the  Hon  :  Winslow  Warren  had  issued 
a  circular  letter  to  friends  of  the  cause,  that  the 
money  to  pay  for  the  completion  of  the  building 
might  be  obtained  before  the  work  was  done,  and 
when  at  a  social  gathering  in  Kendall  Hall,  Febru- 
ary 24*^  1899,  it  was  announced  that  a  friend  who 

[112] 


Liberty   and    Progress 


did  not  wish  to  have  his  name  disclosed,  had  given 
$15000  to  the  building  fund,  the  audience  rejoiced, 
and  sang  the  doxology.  The  work  went  on,  and 
was  finished,  and  glad  eyes  and  grateful  hearts  were 
delighted,  when  the  doors  were  flung  wide  open  tor 
the  service  of  dedication.  The  order  of  exercises 
was  as  follows  :  — 

ORGAN  VOLUNTARY 

Hallelujah  Chorus  from  The  Messiah Handel 

CHORUS 

The  breaking  waves  dashed  high Mrs  Hemans 

INVOCATION 
Rev:   Charles  P.   Lombard,  Pastor 

SCRIPTURE  READING 
Rev:   Eugene  R.  Shippen,  First  Parish  Dorchester  (1630) 

PRAYER  OF  DEDICATION 
Rev:   Edward  Everett  Hale  D.D. 

CONGREGATIONAL  HYMN 

Written  for  the   dedication  of  the  Fourth  Meeting-House  December  14th  1831 
by  Rev  :  John  Pierpont. 

I .      The  winds  and  waves  were  roaring  : 

The  Pilgrims  met  for  prayer  ; 
And  here  their  God  adoring. 

They  stood,  in  open  air. 
When  breaking  day  they  greeted. 

And  when  its  close  was  calm. 
The  leafless  woods  repeated 

The  music  of  their  psalm. 

["3] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

2.  Not  thus,  O  God,  to  praise  Thee, 

Do  we,  their  children,  throng  : 
The  temple's  arch  we  raise  thee 

Gives  back  our  choral  song. 
Yet,  on  the  winds  that  bore  Thee 

Their  worship  and  their  prayers. 
May  ours  come  up  before  Thee 

From  hearts  as  true  as  theirs! 

3.  What  have  we,  Lord,  to  bind  us 

To  this,  the  Pilgrims'  shore  !  — 
Their  hill  of  graves  behind  us. 

Their  watery  way  before. 
The  wintry  surge,  that  dashes 

Against  the  rocks  they  trod. 
Their  memory,  and  their  ashes  — 

Be  Thou  their  guard,  O  God  ! 

4.  We  would  not.  Holy  Father, 

Forsake  this  hallowed  spot. 
Till  on  that  shore  we  gather 

Where  graves  and  griefs  are  not : 
The  shore  where  true  devotion 

Shall  rear  no  pillared  shrine. 
And  see  no  other  ocean 

Than  that  of  love  divine, — 

Read  by  Rev.  E.  J.  Prescott,  First  Church,  Salem  (l62p) 

SERVICE  OF  DEDICATION 
Minister  and  People 

ANTHEM 
**  I  have  surely  built  thee  an  house  "       .      .      .  W.  O.  Wilkinson 

ADDRESS 
His  Excellency,  Roger  Wolcott,  LL.  D.   Governor   of  the 

Commonwealth 

["4] 


Liberty   and    Progress 


ADDRESS 
Rev  :  Francis  G.  Peabody,  D.D.,  Harvard  University 

SOLO 

By  Mr.  I.  F.  Botume 

The  Lord  is  my  Light Alitson 

ADDRESS 
Rev  :  James  Eells,  First  Church  Boston  (1630) 

ADDRESS 

Rev  :  James  De  Normandie,  D.D.,  First  Religious  Society  \v 

RoxBURY  (163 1) 

ADDRESS 
Rev  :  S.  A.  Eliot,  Secretarx  American  Unitarian  Association 

HYMN 

Written  for  this  service. 

Let  the  organ  roll  its  music,  and  the  song  of  praise  arise. 
Unto  God  who  crowns  endeavor,  and  rewardeth  sacrifice. 
Who  has  poured  His  holy  spirit  into  mighty  men  and  wise. 
Whose  souls  are  marching  on. 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah^ 
Their  souls  are  marching  on. 

Let  us  sing  the  Faith  triumphant  that  has  ruled  the  raging  sea. 
That  has  swept  upon  the  storm-wind  to  a  land  of  Hberty, 
That  has  bowed  the  gloomy  forests  and  has  reared  a  nation  free. 
Whose  soul  is  marching  on. 

Chorus  : 

With  the  Mighty  Dead  behind  us,  and  a  waiting  world  before, 
Let  us  lift  the  torch  they  carried  to  the  God  whom  we  adore. 
To  His  holy  name  be  praises  and  the  glory  evermore, 
Whose  power  is  marching  on. 

["5j 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah, 
His  power  is  marching  on. 

BENEDICTION 

On  July  I**  1900,  the  Rev:  Charles  P.  Lombard 
resigned  his  position  as  minister  of  the  Parish,  to 
take  effect  in  September.  He  had  served  the 
church  diligently  and  faithfully  for  more  than 
twelve  years,  and  was  respected  and  beloved 
throughout  the  community ;  but  the  state  of  his 
health  compelled  him  to  seek  rest  and  change.  A 
farewell  reception  was  given  to  him,  and  to  his  wife, 
on  September  27*,  when  their  parishioners  and 
friends  expressed  appreciation  of  their  past  services 
and  good  wishes  for  the  future,  accompanied  with  a 
gift  of  $700.  M""  and  M''  Lombard  sailed  for  Italy 
on  the  6*  of  October,  to  remain  abroad  a  year. 

To  the  great  regret  of  the  congregation  M"^  James 
D.  Thurber,  who  for  more  than  twenty-five  years 
had  acted  as  clerk  of  the  Parish  declined  to  be  re- 
nominated, feeling  that  the  time  had  come  when 
someone  else  should  have  an  opportunity  of  render- 
ing special  service  to  the  church,  and  carrying  on 
with  energy  and  enthusiasm  the  work  which  had 
been  so  freely  given  in  the  past. 

Although  the  building  itself  was  complete,  its 
equipment  was  not  quite  perfect.  A  beautiful  organ 
had  been  provided,  but  the  chancel  was  unfurnished. 
A  communion  table  and  chairs  and  a  baptismal  font, 

[116] 


Liberty    and    Progress 


were  greatly  needed.  Two  handsome  carved  oak 
chairs  were  presented  by  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Elder  Brewster.  A  massive  oak  table  to  match  the 
chairs,  and  a  piece  of  the  step  of  the  ancient  church 
at  Delfthaven  were  also  given.  M""  Chandler 
Robbins  of  New  York  gave  two  bronze  tablets  in 
memory  of  D"^  Robbins  and  D""  Kendall,  which  were 
placed  near  the  gallery  at  the  north  end  of  the 
church.  A  legacy  of  ^250  was  bequeathed  which 
was  applied  to  the  purchase  of  suitable  stair-railings. 
Two  bronze  tablets  were  attached  to  the  buttress  of 
the  tower  near  the  front  entrance  to  the  church,  one 
of  which  bears  the  following  incription.  "  The 
Church  of  Scrooby,  Leyden  and  the  Mayflower 
gathered  on  this  hill-side  in  1620,  has  ever  since 
preserved  unbroken  records  and  maintained  a  con- 
tinuous ministry,  its  first  covenant  being  still  the 
basis  of  its  fellowship.  In  reverent  memory  of  its 
Pilgrim  Founders  this  Fifth  Meeting-House  was 
erected  AD,  MDCCCXCVII." 

Provision  was  made  in  the  vestibule  for  placing 
on  the  marble  wall,  the  First  Covenant  of  the 
Church,  and  other  historic  records  deserving  special 
remembrance,  and  in  due  time  the  generosity  of 
friends  will  no  doubt  permit  the  carrying  out  of 
these  and  other  plans,  which  will  serve  as  mile 
stones  to  mark  the  way  along  which  the  Pilgrims 
and  their  descendants  have  travelled. 

My  W'ork  is  now  done.  Without  entering  too 
fully  into  the  religious  history  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  I  have  endeavored  to  trace  their  steps,  and 

["7] 


The    First    Church    in    Plymouth 

to  bring  into  convenient  compass,  the  record  of  a 
church,  which  is  without  parallel  in  its  loyalty  to 
truth  and  liberality  of  view,  and  to  show  that  the 
after  history  of  the  church  was  the  logical  sequence  of 
the  principle  which  forbade  persecution,  and  incul- 
cated the  Protestant  doctrines  of  liberty  of  thought 
and  the  rights  of  conscience.  That,  for  which  the 
Pilgrims  stood,  the  church  still  stands,  viz.  (i)  loy- 
alty to  truth,  hostility  to  every  kind  of  mental  tort- 
ure and  oppression ;  (2)  fealty  to  conscience,  be 
the  consequences  what  they  may;  (3)  aversion  to 
creeds  and  articles  as  tests  of  Christian  fellowship, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  Christian  ordinances,  on  the 
ground  that  an  honest  man  cannot  make  himself 
believe  anything  he  pleases ;  that  it  is  therefore 
wicked  to  drive  him  by  threats  and  penalties,  actual 
or  implied,  to  dissemble  his  thoughts  and  disguise 
his  opinions ;  (4)  the  identity  of  righteousness  with 
salvation,  intellectual  righteousness  which  cares  su- 
premely for  the  simple  truth,  and  moral  righteous- 
ness which  will  not  parley  with  sin.  The  world 
never  reared  a  set  of  men  more  conscientious  and 
fearless  in  their  doings,  more  hardy,  simple,  unos- 
tentatious in  their  manners.  May  their  fortitude 
continue  to  rebuke  our  cowardice ;  their  thrift  re- 
proach our  effeminate  luxury  ;  their  hardihood  con- 
demn our  supineness  and  lassitude ;  their  breadth 
and  catholicity  of  religious  sentiment  put  to  scorn 
the  petty  narrowness  and  littleness  of  our  day.  It 
is  a  proud  thing  to  be  their  spiritual  heirs,  to  possess 
their  principles,  and  to  cherish  their  heroic  deeds  as 
our  best  inheritance. 

[118] 


Date  Due 

^^1^  >, 

i 

f 

, 

